CONGRESS 





Book. (5 ^Z. 
GDjpghtN" 



COFnaGHT DEPOSIT. 



SOUVENIR OF LA RABIDA 
Clu WORLD'S COLUMBIAN EXPOSITION 



t 

Tm Relics of Columbus 



AN ILLUSTRATBD DESCRIPTION OF THE HISTORICAL 
COLLECTION IN THE MONASTERY 

OF La Rabida 



BY 



WILLIAM ELEROY CURTIS 

Direco. 0M,« B.ea„ or ,„e A.eH.„ ,ep.M.s a„, a„er „M„e L.,. 
American Bureau Wori re r i u- r^ 

ureau, World s Columbian Exposition. 



THE WILLIAM H. LOWDERMILK COMPANY. 

Publishers, 
WASHh\GTON, D. C. 



1- I IZ 



; 



Copyright by William E. Curtis, 1893. 



ONKEY COWPANY, PRINTEBS AND PUBLISH 






CLASSIFICATION OF THE RELICS OF COLUMBUS 



EXHIBITKD IN 



THE MONASTERY OF LA RABIDA. 



PART I. 



Section A. 

Section B. 
Section C. 
Section D. 
Section E. 
Section F. 
Section G. 
Section H. 
Section 1. 

Section K. 
Section L. 
Section M. 
Section N. 



Section O. 
Section P. 

Section Q. 
Section R. 



Geographical Knowledge and the Science 
OF Navigation at the Time of Columbus. 

The Court of Ferdinand and Isabella 

The Birth and Early Life of Columbus 

The Career of Columbus in Spain 

Scenes Associated with the First Voyage 
Scenes Associated with the Second Voyage 
Scenes Associated with the Third Voyage 
Scenes Associated with the Last Voyage 
The Last Days of Columbus. His Death 

and Burial 

The Relics- of Columbus 

The Publication of the Discovery 

The Christening of the Continent, etc 

The Conquest of Mexico and Peru, and the 
Settlement of Other Portions of Amer- 
ica 

Original Papers Relating to Columbus 
Loaned by the Duke of Veragua i86 

Original Papers Relating to Columbus 
Loaned by the Duchess of Berwick and 

^L^^^ 204 

The Vatican Exhibit 210 

The John Boyd Thacher Collection of 
Valuable Works Relating to Columbus 
AND the Discovery 214 



Page. 

7 
17 
25 
33 
47 
O9 

86 
94 

103 
127 

^37 
157 



172 



THE MONASTERY OF LA RABIDA. 



THE Monastery of La Rabida has been fitly termed "the 
cornerstone of American history," and is more closely 
associated with the career of Columbus than an\' other 
structure. Tt was therefore deemed appro[n-iate by the Board of 
Directors of the World's Columbian Exposition to repi'oduce 
that ancient and famous structure as a shelter for the relics of 
Columbus that have been secured for exhibition. The idea was 
suggested by William I-^leroy Curtis, Director of the Bureau of 
the American Republics at Washington, and chief of the Latin- 
American department of the Exposition. The plans were drawn 
from sketches and photographs secured by Mr. Curtis in Spain, 
by Mr. Henry D. Ives, who superintended the work of construc- 
tion. The building was erected at the expense of the World's 
Columbian Exposition, and the pictures and relics it contains 
were paid for from the allotment of the De[iartment of State of 
the appropriation made by Congress for the Goxernment j^oard 
of Management. 

The building is almost an exact fac-sinTile of the original mon- 
astery, which stands on the summit of a low headland between the 
Odiel and Tinto rivers, near the town of Palos, Spain, three miles 
from the Atlantic ocean and al)out half-way between the Strait of 
Gibraltar and the southern boundar\' of Portugal. Tradition sa}'s 
that the monastery was originally erected during the reign of the 
Roman Emperor Trajan, in the second century, and there are 
historical records to show that it was reconstructed in the elev- 
enth century by the Knights Templar, who occupied it man}- 
years. It was called La Rabida, which, according to the best 
authorities, signifies, in the Moorish language, an out-post on the 
frontier. When the Moors were driven from Andalusia, the 
building passed into the possession of the Eranciscan monks, 
who re-modeled it again and re-christened it "Santa Maria do La 
Rabida," or the Monastery of Saint Mary of the Erontier. After 
the time of Columbus it was considerably enlarged, but during 
the past two years the structure has been restored by the Spanish 



6 INTRODUCTION. 

government to the condition in which it stood when he found 
an asylum there. 

The date of the first visit of Columbus to La Rabida is a 
matter of doubt and the subject of discussion; but recent re- 
searches seem to show that he appeared there shortly after he 
left Portugal in 1484 or 1485, when he was on his way to Moquer, 
a little village in the neighborhood, where he intended to leave 
his little son Diego, then nine years old, with his sister-in-law, a 
woman named Muliar, while he went to the Court of Ferdinand 
and Isabella at Cordova to ask their aid in discovering a western 
passage to the Indies. Weary, hungry and penniless, he 'ap- 
proached the monastery and asked food and drink for himself 
and child. The good monks invited him in, gave him refresh- 
ments, detained him for several months, and becoming interested 
in his plans gave him letters to influential persons at court. 

His next appearance there Vv^as several years later, when, dis- 
heartened by the indifference and procrastination of the sover- 
eigns, he was about to leave Spain to seek aid from the king of 
France or the Republics of Genoa or Venice. Again the monks 
detained him, and through their influence he was invited to re- 
turn to court for a further presentation of his plans. 

His third visit was in May^ 1494, when he came back bearing 
a contract with the sovereigns, a commission as Grand Admiral 
of the Ocean Seas, and a royal requisition upon the people of 
Palos to furnish him vessels and supplies for the voyage. He re- 
mained a guest at La Rabida while making his preparations for 
the memorable expedition, and on the morning of his departure 
attended mass in the chapel. 

His next visit was upon his return to Palos bearing the news 
and the trophies of his triumph, when the monks sang a Te 
Deum in the chapel with as much fervor as was ever felt in 
human worship. Again he remained a guest at La Rabida until 
summoned to court. 

The artistic arrangement of the pictures is the work of Mr. 
Henry Reinhardt, of the firm Rocbel & Reinhardt, Milwaukee. 



THE RELICS OF COLUMBUS. 

An Illustrated Description of the Historical Collection 
IN THE Monastery of Loa Rabida. 



SECTION A. GEOGRAPHICAL KNOWLEDGE AND THE SCIENCE 
OF NAVIGATION AT THE TIME OF COLUMBUS. 



Picture of a Norse ship, such as Leif Erikson is supposed to have used 

in his voyage to America. 

It is not considered at all 
improbable that the Norseman 
cruised along the coast of North 
America centuries before Colum- 
bus was born, but their claim to 
the discovery of the continent 
rests entirely upon tradition, po- 
etic legends, and some slight cir- 
cumstanti:vl evidence. In 860 
they discovered Iceland, and in 
874 established there a republic, 
which endured for four centuries. 




A Noi"so ship. 



America discovered in the tenth century. 

By Chas. C. Rafn, secretary to the Royal Society of Northern Antiquari- 
ans of Copenhagen. Loaned by William E. Curtis. 

7 



8 THE RELICS OF COLUMBUS, 

3. Chart showing the course followed by Leif Erikson in his voyage from 

Greenland to Vinland in the tenth century. 

Prepared under the direction of the late Prof. E. N, Horsford, Cambridge. 

Eric the Red, an outlaw, in 984 established a colony in Greenland. In 
986 a viking named Bjarne, while seeking the Greenland colony, 
driven by jiortheasterly gales, is supposed to have sailed as far south as 
Nantucket, When Bjarne returned to Norway he sold his ship to Leif 
Erikson, son of Eric the Red, who set sail with a crew of thirty-five 
men and found the lands as Bjarne had described them. Leif called the 
country Vinland because he found wild grapes there, and spent the winter 
on the coast of Massachusetts. 

4. Chart showing the landfall of Leif Erikson on the New England coast. 

Prepared by Professor Horsford. 

In the spring, when the winds were favorable, Leif Erikson returned to 
Greenland. His brother Thorwald took his ship and went to Vinland, 
remaining three years. The latter was killed by the savages and 
buried near Fall River, so the story goes, with crosses to mark his. grave, 
one at the head and one at his feet. 

5. Discovery of America by the Norsemen, 

By Prof. Eben Norton Horsford. Loaned by William E. Curtis. 

Eben Norton Horsford was born at Moscow, New York, July 27, 1818, 
and died at Cambridge, Massachusetts, January 1, 1893. After leading a 
life of great activity and usefulness, serving as Rumfoid professor of 
applied sciences in Harvard University for sixteen years, and making 
many valuable discoveries in chemistry, he retired from active profes- 
sional duties and gave himself up to the study of the early history of 
America, particularly the voyages of the Norsemen. He erected a statue 
of Leif Erikson in Boston, and a stone tower on the bank of the Charles 
river, at the site of ancient Norumbega, His publications include many 
chemical works and several valuable contributions to the literature of 
the Norsemen and their voyages along the coast of America. 

Professor Horsford was a philanthropist as well as man of science, 
and many colleges and public institutions have been enriched by his bene- 
factions. 

6. Chart showing the location of Leif Erikson' s houses near Boston. 

Prepared by Prof. E. N. Horsford. 

In 1836 there was exhumed near Fall River a skeleton clad in a broken 
• and corroded armor, which was made the subject of one of Longfellow's 
niost beautiful poems: "I Was a Viking Old." The remains were gen- 
erally accepted as those of an Indian until Professor Rafn, the distin- 
guished Scandinavian scholar, pronounced them those of a Norse chief, and 
insisted that the burial place of Thorwald Erikson had been discovered. 



GEOGRAPHICAL KNOWLEDGE AT THE TIME OF COLUMBUS. Q 

The landfall of Leif Erikson. 

Intended to establish the sites of the villages occupied by the Norsemen 
in the tenth century. By Prof. Eben Norton Horsford. Loaned by V/ill- 
iam E. Curtis, Washington. 
Old mill at Newport. 

An old tower at Newport, Rhode Island, is claimed by Professor Rafn 
and others to be an evidence of the occupation of New England by the 
Norsemen; but subsequent investigations have shown that it was erected 
by Governor Arnold, of Rhode Island, for a windmill some time between 
1670 and 1680, and is the copy of a tower of a mill at Chesterton, England, 
where Arnold came from. 

Fac-simile of inscriptions on Dighton rock, near Taunton, Massachu- 
setts, said to have been carved by the Norsemen in the tenth century. 
Another evidence upon which the claims of the Norsemen to the dis- 
covery of America rest is the curious rock in Taunton river, near Digh- 
ton, Massachusetts. It is covered with hieroglyphics which Professor 
Rafrtand other Scandinavian students claim to be inscriptions to the effect 
that Thorfinn Karlsefne, who married the widow of Leif Erikson's 
brother and followed him to Vinland, camped there and took possession 
of the country. The inscriptions were originally believed to be Phoeni- 
cian, and until 1831 were not claimed to have been made by the Norse- 
men. Col. Garrick Mallory, who has given his life to the study of the 
pictographs of the North American Indians, says: "It is merely a type of 
Algonquin rock carving. It is of purely Indian origin, and is executed in 
the peculiar symbolic character of the Kekeewin." 

Fac-similes of the Icelandic sagas of the fourteenth century, relating to 
the discovery of America by the Norsemen. 

From " The Finding of Vinland the Good," by Arthur Reeves, London, 
1890. Loaned by William E. Curtis. 

The oldest saga concerning the voyages of the Norsemen to America 
was written four hundred years after the alleged discovery by Erikson. 
These sagas are contained in the so-called Codex Flatoyenis, a manu- 
script discovered in the seventeenth century in a monastery on an island 
near the coast of Iceland.which is now in the Royal Library at Copenhagen. 
Portrait of Kublai-Khan. 

The fleet of Kublai-Khan, emperor of the Mongols, is said to have 
visited America in the thirteenth century under the command of his son. 
Several volumes have been printed to prove that America was discovered 
by the Chinese and Mongols, who occupied Peru and Mexico. John 
Ranking published in 1827 a fantastic theory that in the thirteenth century 



10 



THE RELICS OF COLUMBUS. 



Kublai-Khan sent a fleet against Japan, which was scattered in a storm. 
A i)orti()n of the ships were driven eastward until they reached the coast 
of Peru, where the son of Kublai-Khan introduced civilization among the 
natives aiui was recognized as tlic first Inca. 

13. Picture of the statue of Leif Erikson, who is claimed to have discovered 

America in the tenth century. 

Erected on Commonwealth avenue, 
Boston, by the Scandinavian residents. 
Anne Whitney, sculptor. Duplicate 
erected on Lake Shore drive at Mil- 
waukee. 

14. Published volumes relating to the dis- 

covery of America by the Norsemen 
in the tenth century. 

15. Fac-simile of page 288 of the Histoi-y 

of Cambria (Wales), written in 1384. 

There is a legend in Wales that 
Prince Madoc.a son of Owen Gwynedd, 
the King of Cambria, in 1170, estab- 
lished a colony in a fertile land across 
the ocean. Leaving his crew he re- 
turned to Wales and fitted out a larger 
expedition, but was heard from no 
more. Humboldt suggests that the story is not imi^robable. 

16. The discovery of America by the Mongols in the thirteenth century. 

A curious book by John Ranking. Published in 1827. Loaned by 
William E. Curtis. 

17. Fac-simile of the Zeno chart. 

About I0I9 a Venetian navigator named Nicolo Zeno started from 
Venice, passed Gibraltar, and sailed northward. His vessel was cast 
ashore upon one of the Faroe Islands. He sent for his brother Antonio, 
who assisted him in subjugating the Shetland Islands, and sailed west- 
ward as far as Greenland. On their return the brothers prepared a chart 
of 'the lands they had visited, and Nicolo wrote an entertaining account of 
his adventures. In 1658, sixty-six years after the discovery of Columbus, 
this paper and the chart were published under the title "Die Commentarji 
del \^iaggio," and upon it was based the claim that the Zeno brothers 
had visited America and were entitled to the credit of discovering the 
continent. 

18. Fac-simile of the Toscanelli map. 

Columbus got the greatest cncourngenient in his belief in a western 




Statue of Leif Erikson. 



GEOGRAPHICAL KNOWLEDGE AT THE TIME OF COLUMBUS. II 

passage to India, and his notions of the opulence and magnificence of that 
land, from Paolo Toscanelli, an eminent Italian physician and geographer, 
who died in 1482. In 1474 Toscanelli received a letter from Columbus, 
then in Portugal, asking his opinions. To this he replied at length, send- 
ing him a copy of his map of the known world, which Columbus carried 
on all his voyages. 

19. Copy of a letter from Toscanelli made by Columbus on the fly leaf of a 

book now in the Columbus Library at Seville. 

"Toscanelli has the great honor and merit of giving a powerful impulse 
to the mind of Columbus, and encouraging him to increased zeal and 
unwearied activity in carrying out the great undertaking that was to alter 
the face of the earth." — Tardiicci. 

20. Portrait of Marco Polo. 

From an original in Rome. 

This famous \'enetian traveler in 1298 first made China and India 
known to the people of Europe. He visited India in 1271 and wrote an 
amazing account of his travels. The Polo family were among the merchant 
princes of Venice. Two brothers made an overland trip into Cathay in 
1260, and eleven years later repeated it, taking with them Marco Polo, a lad 
of seventeen years. They traveled through Thibet to China, and as far 
south as Hindustan, and returned to Venice twenty-four years later, where 
their friends had given them up as dead. In 1298, having joined the 
army of Venice in a war against the Genoese, Marco was captured, and 
while in prison in Genoa dictated an account of his adventures to a fellow 
captive, describing Thibet, China, Burmah, Hindustan, Java, Sumatra and 
other places he had visited. This book conveyed the first knowledge that 
the Europeans had of the great nations of the East; it had a great influence 
upon commerce and civilization,' and was circulated extensively in manu- 
script form until the invention of printing, when numerous editions were 
published in several languages. The copy read by Columbus and carried 
by him on his several voyages as a guide to the lands he expected to visit 
was printed in Latin, at Antwerp, in 1485, and is still preserved in the 
Columbian Library at Seville, Spain, with many marginal notes in his 
own handwriting. 

21. Medallion of Marco Polo. 

From a German geography, Lowenberg. 

22. " De Regionibus Orientalibus." The travels of 

Marco Polo, Latin edition. The same that was 
carried by Columbus on his first voyage. 

23. Photograph of the manuscript notes of Columbus 

on the copy of Marco Polo in Columbian Library 

at Seville. m&tco Polo. 




12 THE RELICS OF COLUMBUS. 

24. Portrait of Claudius Ptolemy. 

Columbus had with him constantly, and studied with great care, the 
Latin edition of Ptolemy. Claudius Ptolemy, the first great geographer, 
was born in Greece, but gained his fame in Egypt during the second 
century after Christ, when he wrote a geography that was accepted as a 
standard text-book for fourteen centuries. He proved the earth to be a 
globe, and invented the system of latitude to determine geographical 
divisions and distances. The edition used by Columbus was that pub- 
lished in Latin in 1475. This contained a map showing Greenland. 

25a. Copy of the 1475 edition of Ptolemy's Cosmographia, used by Columbus, 
from the Congressional Library at Washington. 

25. Ptolemy's Cosmographia. Edition of 1482. 

Loaned by James W. Ellsworth, Chicago, 111. 

26. The i486 edition of Ptolemy. 

Printed in Venice at the expense of Justus de Albano, by John Regor. 
Loaned by E. Francis Riggs, Washington, D. C. 

27. The 151 1 edition of Ptolemy. 

Printed at Venice by Jacobum Pentium de Leucho, with initial letters 
rubricated by hand. Loaned by William E. Curtis. 

This edition is exceedingly rare, as it contains the results of the third 
voyage of Columbus and the second and third voyages of Americus Ves- 
pucius. It shows Cuba to be northeast of Hispaniola (Santo Domingo), 
and South America to be a continent which is called Tierre Sancttr 
Crucis (the land of the true cross). Greenland is drawn as a peninsula of 
northwestern Europe. 

28. Fac-simile of pages of the "Historia Rerum Ubique Gestarum," showing 

marginal notes in the handwriting of Columbus. 

Another volume from which Columbus gained many arguments and 
much information to sustain his theory of a passage to India was the 
" Historia Rerum Ubique Gestarum," by >Eneas Sylvius, published at 
Venice in 1477. He kept it constantly with him, and his copy with mar- 
ginal notes is also still to be seen in the Columbian Library at Seville. On 
the fly leaf he transcribed the letter he received from Paolo Toscanelli. 
yEneas Sylvius Picolonini, the author, was an eminent theologian, astron- 
omer and geographer (1405-1464), Bishop of Trieste in 1447, Cardinal in 
1458, aiid Pope of Rome under the title Pius II, in 1458. 

29. Fac-simile of pages of " De Imago Mundi," showing marginal notes in 

the handwriting of Columbus. 

Columbus studied, and had with him on his first voyage, a copy of the 
1490 edition of a celebrated work called "Imago Mundi" (Image of the 



GEOGRAPHICAL KNOWLEDGE AT THE TIME OF COLUMBUS. I3 

World), or " Dc Imagine Mundi," originally written by Cardinal Petris di 
AUiaco, or Pierre D'Ailly, in 1410. The author was a distinguished pre- 
late, Dean of the University of Navarre, Bishop of Cambray, and after- 
ward a cardinal. The identical copy used by Columbus is preserved in 
the Columbian Library at Seville, which was founded by his son Ferdi- 
nand. 

30. Page 124 of "Theologia," with marginal notes in the handwriting of 
Columbus. 

Original in Columbian Library at Seville. 

In the collection of books at Seville, which formerly belonged to Fer- 
nando Colon, is a copy of the work entitled "Historia Naturale di C. Plinio 
Secondo Tradocta di Lingua Latina in Fiorentina per Christophoro Lan- 
dino Fiorentino al Serenissimo Ferdinando Re di Napoli," which was pub- 
lished at Venice in 1489, and still retains the original wooden binding 
covered with skin. Upon the margin is a note in the handwriting of 
Columbus, which reads as follows: 

"Del ambra es cierto nascere in India soto tierra he yo ne Ho Fato 
Cuare in molti monti in la isola de feyti vel de ofir vel de cipango, a la 
quale Habio Posto Nome Spangnola y ne O Trovato pieca grande como el 
capo, ma no tota chiara, salvo de chiaro, y parda y otra negra, y vene 
asay." 

Columbus thus refers to the fact that he found amber in the Island of 
Hispaniola, which he supposed to be the land of Ophir referred to by Solo- 
mon, or the Cipango of Marco Polo. 

32. Facsimile of the terrestrial globe made by Martin Behaim, 1492. 

Made by E. de Grandpre, Paris. Loaned by the National Museum, 
Washington. 

The earliest globe of importance known to geographers bears date 1492, 
and is made of pasteboard covered with parchment, about twenty-one 
inches in diameter, on which are designed historical pictures with their 
legends, written in old German. The first meridian passes through 
Madeira, and the only other lines on it are those of the equator, the two 
tropics and the polar circles. "As a monument of geography it is of the 
highest importance, being the only original document that has come 
down to us in this form embodying the geographical ideas of its author, 
with those of his gifted contemporaries, Toscanelli, Columbus, etc. This 
globe represents, with some slight modifications, most of the dispropor- 
tions of the Ptolemaic geography, into which is incorporated information 
evidently derii^ed from the travels of Marco Polo and Sir J. Mandeville. 
It was executed by Behaim while on a visit to his native city, Nuremberg 
'1491-3), after a sojourn of five years in the Azores." 



14 THE RELICS OF COLUMBUS. 

33. Ghillany's Life of Martin Behaim, with many interesting maps and 

charts. (Loaned by William E. Curtis, Washington.) 
Martin Behaim, whose works Columbus studied, was born at Nurem- 
berg. Attracted by the discoveries the Portuguese were making, he went 
to Lisbon. King John II, in 1481, made him president of a council 
charged with the directions of voyages of discovery. In 1484, he made a 
voyage along the African coast and discovered the Congo. Whtle in 
Portugal, Columbus met and conversed with him frequently. In 1492 
Behaim returned to Nuremberg and constructed a globe which repre- 
sented the most advanced knowledge oi geography at that date. 
The original remains in the family at Nurcmburg. 

34. Portrait of Martin Behaim. 

35. Arms and armor of the time of Columbus. 

Originals in the Royal Armory, Madrid. 

Model of Armor; Models of Armor; Models of Armor; Models of Armor; 
Models of Armor; Models of Chain Armor; Models of Chain Armor; 
Modelsof Chain Armor; Models of Chain Armor; Models of Chain Armor; 
Models of Chain Armor; Specimens of Chain ArmorrSpecimens of Chain 
Armor; Armor of Guzman the Good; Armor of Guzman the Good; 
Armor of Guzman the Good; Armor of Guzman the Good; Armor of the 
Cid; Armor of the Cid; Armor of Charles V; Armor of Charles V; Armor 
of Charles V; Armor of Charles \'; Armor of Boabdil; Armor of Boabdil; 
Armor of Boabdil; Armor of Boabiiil; Armor of Ferdinand the Catholic; 
Armor of Ferdinand the Catholic; Armor of Ferdinand the Catholic; 
Armor of Ferdinand the Catholic; Armor of Isabella the Catholic; Armor 
of Isabella the Catholic; Armor of Phillip II; Armor of Phillip II; Armor 
of Gonzalez de Cordova; Armor of Gonzalez de Cordova; Armor of Car- 
dinal Ximines; Armor of Cardinal Ximines; Armor of Don Juan of Aus- 
tria; Horse Armor of P^erdinand the Catholic; Horse Armor of Ferdinand 
the Catholic; Model of Arms; Models of Arms; Models of Arms; Models 
of Arms; Models of Arms; Models of Arms; Models of Arms; Golden 
Sword of Isabella; Golden Sword of Isaliella; Golden Sword of Isabella;. 
Sword of Isabella the Catholic; Sword of Isabella the Catholic; Golden 
Sword of King Ferdinand; Sword of King Ferdinand; Swords of King 
Ferdinand; Swords of King Ferdinand; Sword of Ferdinand the Catholic; 
Sword of Ferdinand the Catholic; Sword of Charles V; Sword of Charles 
V; Sword of Charles X; Sword of Philip II; Sword of Philip II; Sword 
of Philip II; Sword of Philip II; Sword of Boabdil; Sword of Boiibdil; 
Swords of Pizarro; Sword of Pizarro; Shield representing the Discovery 
of America; The Shield of Fortune; The Shield of Fortune; The Shield of 
Medusa; The Shield of Medusa; The Shield of the Siren; The Shield of the 
Siren; Shield of the Lion; Shield of the Lion; Shield of Silver and Gold; 



GEOGRAPHICAL KNOWLEDGE AT THE TIME OF COLUMBUS. 1$ 

Shield of Goki and Silver; Siiield of (iold and Silver; Shield of Silver and 
Gold; Shield of Silver and Gold; Shield of Silver and Gold; The Banner 
of Charles V; Banner of Charles V; Banner of St. Christopher; Banner of 
St. Christopher; 15anner of St. James; Banner of St. James; Banner of St. 
James; Banner of St. James; Banner of St. James; The Banner of the 
Cock; The Banner of the Cock; The Grand Standard of Spain; The Grand 
Standard of Spain; Helmet and Litter of Charles V;- Helmet and Litter 
of Charles V; Helmet of Cardinal Ximines; Helmet of Gardinal Ximines; 
Helmet of Cardinal Ximines; Helmet of King James; Helmet of King 
James; Models of Helmets; Helmets; Ciold and Silver Helmets; Gold and 
Silver Helmets; Helmets; Helmets and Armor; Models of Helmets and 
Armor; Models of Helmets and Shoes; Models of Helmets and Shoes; 
Helmets and Water Cask; Gauntlet; Gauntlet of Cisneros; Gauntlet of 
Cisneros; Models of Spears; Models of Spears; Models of Cross Bows; 
Models of Cross Bows; Saddles of Isabella the Catholic; Saddles of Isa- 
bella the Catholic; Models of SadtUe-cloths; Models of Saddle-cloths; 
Stirrups of Ferdinand the Catholic; Stirrups of Ferdinand the Catholic; 
The Stirrups and ICquipments of Ferdinand the Catholic; The Stirrui)S and 
Equipments of Ferdinand the Catholic; Models of Stirrups and Powder- 
Horns; Models of Stirrups and Powder-Horns; Models of Stirrups; Models 
of Stirrups; Models of Spurs; Models of Spurs; Horse Bits; Horse Bits; 
Models of Maces; Models of Maces; Keys for Ancient; Keys for Ancient. 

38. Fac-simile of a celestial globe in bronze. 

Made liy the Aral)s in the eleventh century. Original in National 
Library at Paris. 

40. Crusaders' map of the thirteenth century, representing the journey from 

London to Jerusalem. 

41. Fac-simile of a map showing itinerary of the pilgrimage from London 

to Jerusalem. 

42. Fac-simile of map indicating the route of the pilgrimage from London 

to Jerusalem. 

43. Fac-simile of chart of the thirteenth century, belonging to an old family 

of Pisa. 

44. Fac-simile of old charts, tenth, thirteenth, fourteenth and fifteenth cen- 

turies. 

45. Curious maps of the fifteenth century. 

46. Fac-simile of an atlas of Petrus Vessconte, 1318. 

47. Italian map of the fifteenth century, in perspective. 

48. Military map of the Middle Ages. 

50. Map of east coast of Newfoundland and coast of Labrador. 



i6 



THE Ri.i.ICS OF COLJMBUS. 



52. Fac-simile of the eastern hemisphere, from li.i map of Martin Behaim, 

1492. 

53. Fac-simile of the western heir.isphere, from the map of Martin Behaim, 

1492. 
36. Chart showing the world as it is, and as Columbus thought it to be. 




I 



54. Map of the United States showing the number and location of places 
named in honor of Columbus. 

Prepared under the direction of Prof. G. Brown Goode, Assistant 
Secretary, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D. C. 



THE COURT OF FERDINAND AND ISABELLA. 



17 



SECTION B. THE COURT OF FERDINAND AND ISABELLA. 



55. Isabella as a child. 

Artist unknown. Original in Madrid. 

Isabella, surnamed the Catholic, was born April 
22, 1461, and married Ferdinand of Aragon, at 
Valladolid, October 19, 1469. On the death of her 
brother Henry, she was proclaimed Queen of Cas- 
tile and Leon, December 18, 1474. Through the union 
of crowns of Castile and Aragon, and the subsequent 
consolidation of power, the expulsion of the Moors 
from Spain was consummated by the fall of Gra- 
nada, in 1492. The same year that saw the star of • 
Spain in the ascendant witnessed also the discovery 
of America, for it was under the walls of Granada 
that the capitulation was signed with Columbus. Isabella 
del Canipo, November 24, 1504. 

56. Isabella as a queen. 

Original in Royal Palace, Madrid, by Antonio Rincon. 

"Isabella," says Washington Irving, "was well formed, 
size, with great dignity and graceful- 
ness of deportment, and a mingled 
gravity and sweetness of demeanor. 
Her complexion was fair, her hair au- 
burn, inclining to red; her eyes were of 
a clear blue, with a benign expression, 
and there was a singular modesty in her 
countenance, gracing as it did a won- 
derful firmness of purpose and earnest- 
ness of spirit." 

57. Picture of Isabella in armor. 

By Leopold Flameng. 

Queen Isabella is said to have par- 
ticipated actively in the siege of Gra- 
nada. The armor that she wore at this 
time is preserved in the Armoria at 
Madrid. 




Medira 



of the middle 




Isabella in armor. 



THE RELICS OF COLUMBUS. 




Ferdinand as a boy. 



58. King Ferdinand as a boy. 

Ferdinand V, King of Aragon, Castile, Naples and Sicily, was born the 
10th of March, 1452. He survived Isabella some twelve years, dying 
January 23, 1516. 

59. Portrait of King Ferdinand. 

"Ferdinand was of the middle stature, 
well proportioned and hardy, and active 
from athletic exercise. His carriage was 
free and majestic. He had a Qlear, serene 
forehead, which appeared more lofty from 
his head being partly bald. His eyebrows 
were large and parted and, like his hair, of 
a bright chestnut. His eyes were clear /> / 
and animated, his complexion somewhat y>f ' ' 
ruddv, his mouth moderate and well C" ^ -^ , 
formed and gracious in its expression, his Jm 
teeth white, though small and irregular, his '^tfHj/' 
voice sharp, his speech quick and fluent." 

60. Isabella signing the Capitulation of Granada. 

Bv Geoffroy de Apres. Original in the Royal Palace at INIadrid. 
6ia. Original of the will of Isabella the Catholic. 

Made at Medina del Campo, November 23, 1504. Loaned by the 
Government of Spain at the request of the President of the Ignited States. 
(In the Chapel.) 

The will is in the handwriting of the Queen's private secretary, Gasper 
de Gricio, and consists of four sheets of vellum. The covers were made 
in 1881 by Crispulo Avecilla, an artist of Toledo, and are embossed and 
inlaid with gold, silver and iron. In one of the clauses of the will Isa- 
bella recommends the protection of the persons and property of the 
Indians in the New World. It is witnessed by the Bishop of Calahorra; 
D. Fadrique de Portugal; Don Valeriano Ordonez de Villaguiran; Rod- 
rigo, Bishop of the City; Doctor Martin Fernandez de Angulo; Arch 
Dccfcon of Talavera; D. Pedro de Oropesa, and Licentiate Luis Zapata. 
61b. Portfolio of gold, silver and iron, in which the will of Isabella is pre- 
served in the Royal Palace at Madrid. (In the Chapel.) 

62. Fac-simile of the will of Isabella. 

63. Crown of Isabella. 

64. Fac-simile of the sword of Isabella. (In the Chapel.) 

65. Missal, treasure-chest, scepter and sword of Isabella in the Cathedral 

at Granada. 

In a room adjoining the Royal Chapel in Granada are shown several 



i 



THE COURT OF FERDINAND AND ISABELLA. 



19 



relics of Isabella and Fenlinaiid, such as the missal and scepter of the 
Queen, her sword and treasure-chest used in the wars in the south of 
Spain. 

66. Castle at Medina del Campo, in which Queen Isabella died. 

Medina del Campo, the fa- 
mous City of the Plain, lies 
some twenty-five miles south 
of Valladolid (whereColumbus 
died), and is the junction of the 
railroads leading in one direc- 
tion to the ancient city of Se- 
govia, and in the other to 
Salamanca. Here^says the his- 
torian, Caesar Borgia was con- 
fined twoyears.andinthesame 
castle of La Mota, Isabella, 
Queen of Spain, died in the 
year 1504. 
^7. Tomb of Isabella and Ferdi- 
nand in the Royal Chapel 
at Granada. 

Attached to the Cathedral 
of Granada, in the "Royal 
Chapel," are the tombs of Isa- 
bella and Ferdinand, of the Castle at Medina del Campo. 
finest alabaster and surmounted by the chiseled effigies of the great 
sovereigns of Spain. Beneath these tombs is a vault containing four 
leaden coffins, enclosing their remains and those of their daughter, Joanna, 
and her husband. Granada was considered by them the brightest jewel 
in their crown, and they commanded that they should be brought there 
to be buried, wherever they might die. 

68. Surrender of Boabdil, the last king of the Moors, to Isabella. 

Original in the Senate at Madrid. 

Upon the bank of the Xenil, the river that flows through the vega of 
Granada, west of the Alhambra fortifications and the Hill of the Sun, 
stands a small chapel, San Sebastian, erected on the spot where the last 
Moorish king, Boabdil, delivered to the Spanish sovereigns the keys of 
his castle and palace. An ancient inscription gives the particulars of the 
ceremony. Directly west, in the hills, is the pass through which lioabdil 
rode when on his way out of the kingdom, and known as the "Last Sigh of 
the Moor." — /:/ ultivw suspiro del Moro, 





^BEf -**■'? A^ 






nPr^x v^- ' 


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Hm:^_ 


. ," 


\- 




j^'- : 








^l*^*' < 


i±A 


^ 




^'^S^&'^s^^^H 


^H 




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1 


1 


1 

• 1 jj 


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1 



20 



THE RELICS OF COLUMBUS. 



69. 



View of the 
Alhambra at 
Granada. 




71- 
72. 

73- 



Columbus arrived at Granada 
ill time to witness the surrender 
of Boabdil and the triumphal 
entry of Ferdinand and Isabella 
into the wonderful palace of the 
Moorish kings. In fact, one of 
The Iron ciateway of the Alhambra. his interviews with Isabella took 

place in one of the salons of the Alhambra — the "Hall of Justice." 
Torre de los Picos- the Iron Gateway — through which Boabdil, the last 
king of the Moors, rode to deliver the keys of the Alhambra to Ferdi- 
nand and Isabella. 

The "Hill of the Sun," upon which the Moors erected the great line of 
fortifications, including the Alhambra Palace, overlooks the city of Gra- 
nada and dominates the country around. Numerous towers rise above the 
wall at intervals, and through some of them are the entrance-ways and the 
exits of the castle. The Torre de los Picos, or battlemented tower, guards 
the side next the ravine leading to the river Darro, and through this, 
tradition relates, Boabdil rode for the last time, when on his way to 
Granada to submit to Ferdinand and Isabella. 
City gate of Santa Fe, Spain. 
Cathedral of Santa Fe, Spain. 
Portrait of Queen Isabella, by Paul Rohrbeck. (In the Chapel.) 



« 



THE COURT OF FERDINAND AND ISABELLA. 21 

Portrait of King FervIIiiand, by Paul Rohrbeck. dn tlir C'IliijcI.) 
Statue of Prince Don Juan, son of Ferdinand and Isabella. 
Prince Don Juan of Aragon, son of Ferdinand and Isabella. 

Don JucUi, Prince of Asturias, the second child of the Cathohc king 
was born June 80, 1478, at Seville. In 1497 he married the Princess Mar 
garet of Austria, daughter of tlie l^niperor Maximilian, and died on the 4th 
of October, 1497. 
Princess Isabella, daughter of Ferdinand and Isabella. 

Dona Isabel, the eldest child of the Catholic king, was born October 1, 
1470, and married Don Alonzo, the heir of the Portuguese crown, in 1490. 
Upon her husband's death, which occurred a few months after the mar- 
riage, she went to Spain, but was prevailed upon in 1497 to marry Don 
TVlanuel, the King of Portugal. She died one year afterward. 
Don Juan, King of Aragon. 

Don Juan II, father of Ferdinand the Catholic, l)ecanie King of Aragon, 
in 1458, upon the death of his brother Alfonso the Magnanimous, who left 
no children. He died in 1479. 

Dona Juana, daughter of Ferdinand and Isabella. 

Dona Juana, called "la loca" or "the insane," was born at Toledo, 
November 6, 1479; married in ]49() the Archduke, Philip of Austria, 
called " the Handsome," by whom she had two sons, Charles, afterward 
Emperor Charles V, and Ferdinand. Soon after she lost her mind, and 
died in 15.V). 
Portrait of Charles V of Spain. 

Charles V of Spain, grandson of Ferdinand and Isabella, the son of 
their daughter, Juana, was born in 1500, in Ghent. By the death of his 
father in 150fi, he fell heir to the Netherlands; to the crown of Spain and 
Naples on the death of his grandfather, Ferdinand, and to the archduke- 
dom of Austria by the death of his grandfather, Maximilian, in 1519. 
Thus was concentrated into the hands of a single individual the most 
opulent kingdoms of Europe, and at the same time he became possessed 
of all the vast regions discovered by Columbus, Cortez, Pizarro, Magel- 
lan, and all the Spanish explorers during the reign of his grandparents 
and his own. He was the most powerful monarch of his time, but did 
not rise to the dignity of his vast possessions and potential influence. It 
was duringhisreign that the Ref<jrmation started and made its great prog- 
ress, though against his will. In tlie year 1535 he made an expedition 
against Tunis and defeated Barbarossa. In 1540 he brought the city of 
Cduin into subjection. He was defeated at Metz, 1552. In 1554 his son 
Philip was married to Mary of England, and to him was transferred the 



22 THE RELICS OF COLUMBUS. 

crown of Naples. In 1555, he abdicated his ivower in the Netherlands; in 
1550, formally resigned the crown of Spain, and retired to the Convent of 
Vusto, in Estraniadura, where he died in 1558. 

85. Charles V and his wife, Isabella of Portugal. 

Married in 15'J(>, the union of Charles and Isabella was happy. The 
king entertained for her great affection- and long lamented her death, 
which occurred in 1539. 

86. King Phillip II. 

Phillip II of Spain, son of Charles \' and Isabella of Portugal, was 
born at Valladoliil, 1527. In 1543, he married Mary of Portugal, who 
died soon after the birth of a son, Don Carlos., He married' in 1554, Mary 
of England, "Bloody Mary," who died in 1558, and in 1559 was united to 
Isabella, daughter of Henry II of France. He won important victories 
over the French, and under the Duke of Alva his armies invaded the 
Netherlands. He imprisoned his own son, Carlos, who died in 1568. In 
1570 he-married his fourth wife, Anne of Austria, who died in 1580, leaving 
one son who survived as Phillip HI. In 1588, he sent against England the 
" Invincible Armada," which was destroyed by a storm. Though not 
inclined for war, yet he managed to impoverish his kingdom, and in 
1597 repudiated his debts. He is remembered for his hatred of heretics, 
whom he persecuted relentlessly; and his great monument is the Escorial, 
the palace he built, and in which he died, in 1598. 

87. King Alfonso XII. of Spain, 

Alfonso XII, eldest son of ex-Oueen Isabella II, born the 28th of 
November, 1857, died 25th of November, 1885, was at first expelled from 
Spain with his mother, 1868, but recalled anil proclaimed King of Spain, 
1874, assuming command of the Spanish army January, 1875. He suc- 
ceeded in quelling the Carlist rebellion in 1876, and enjoyed a peaceful 
reign until his death, becoming endeared to his subjects by his courage, 
and his attention to their welfare. In 1878 he married his cousin, Maria 
de las Mercedes, daughter of the Duke of jNlontpensier, but she died six 
months later; and in November, 1879, he married the Archiluchess Maria 
Christina, of Austria. Although very popular, several unsuccessful 
attempts were made to assassinate him; but his death was from natural 
causes. By his second marriage he had two daughters, Mercedes, born 
September, 1880, and Maria Theresa, born November, 1882. A posthu- 
mous son was born May 17, 1880, who is the present king, the royal i^ower 
being exercised by the Queen Regent, his mother, during his minority. 
83. Queen Christine and the infant King of Spain. 

The present King of Spain (1893) is Alfonso XIII, the posthumous son 
of Alfonso XII, who died in November, 1885. During his minority, 



I 



THE COURT OF FERDINAND AND ISABELLA. 



23 



which terminates at the age of sixteen, his mother exercises the royal 
power, as Queen-Regent. Maria Christina, an Archduchess of Austria, 
(laugliter of the late archduke, Carl Ferdinand, was proclaimed Regent 
during the minority of her son, by a vote of the Spanish Cortes, and the 
Spanish people have always been loyal to her and the infant king, to 
whom they are deeply devoted. The Queen-Regent was born July 21, 
18-58, and married to King Alfonso XII, November 2d, 1879. 

89. Coat-of-arras of Spain. 

In the Coat-of-arms of Spain the shield is divided into four quarters, 
the first and fourth with red ground, bearing a castle in silver with em- 
battled towers with open windows in blue; the second and third, silver 
ground, each having a lion in red, the whole surmounted by a gold crown, 
the lower point of silver, having a pomcgraTiate in red with green leaves. 

90. General view of the city of Santa Fe 

Built on the site of the 
camp occupied by Ferdinand 
and Isabella during the siege 
of Granada. 

Columbus entered 
into a formal con- 
tract with the Crown 
of Spain. 
T h e docu- 
m e n t w a s 
signed be- 
neath the 
walls of Gra- 
nada in the 
newly risen 
city of Santa 
Fc. In Jan- 

U a r y, 1492, View of the Alhambra. 

]]oabdil, the last monarch of the Moors, surrendered the keys of the 
Alhambra. For eight hundred years the hated Moor had ruled the ianil, 
but Christianity had finally triumphed over Islamism, and the last 
European Moslem was a fugitive. Four months later, on the 17th 
of April, the same hands that had received the token of their triumph 
affixed the royal sign manual to a paper confirming] to Christopher 
Columbus rights and titles in a yet undiscovered country beyond 
an unknown sea.* In this the dignities and prerogati\'es of viceroy 
auvl governor were made hereditary in his family, and he and his 
* Tl»e original of the contract is on exhibition in the chapel. No. iWl. 




24 



THF. RELICS OF COLUMBUS, 



heirs were entitled to pretix the title of "Don" to their names, a dis- 
tinction accorded in those days only to people of rank and state, 
although it has since lost its signiticance because of its universal use. 

91. Sala de la Justicia, Hall of the Justice, in the Alhambra, Spain. 

Bounding one side of the Lion Court of the Alhambra is the Sala del 
Tribunal, or Hall of Justice, a gallery some seventy-five feet long and 
sixteen wide, divided into alcoves formerly occupied by divans and with 
the stucco work profusely yet delicately colored. Here the swart Moors 
reclined during the noonday hours; here the Caliphs held their 
audiences, and here Isabella received Columbus, after the surremler of 
Granada. 

92. Mirador de la Reina. 




C)ne oi the most picturesque towers 

of the Alhambra is that known as the 

Mirador (or lookout) of the Queen^ 

View from the Allmini>ra. projecting from the castle walls above 

the River Darro. The view from here is superb, taking in the Moorish 

quarter of Granaila, known as the Albaicin, anil the Gipsy Caves, etc. 

93. Monument to Queen Isabella, Madrid. 

94. Moorish watch-to^ve^ overlooking the Bridge of Pines. 

95. Colored views of horsemen of the time of Columbus. 

96. Don Pedro Enriquez. 

97. Three Spanish knights in armor at prayer. 

98. King Ferdinand the Catholic at prayer. 

99. Queen Isabella at prayer. 

100. Group of kings and queens at prayer, 
loi. Don Juan of Austria, son of Charles V. 

102. Prince Carlos, son of Phillip II. 

103. Donna Maria of Portugal. 

104. Statue of Isabella at Malaga. 

105. Statue of Ferdinand the Catholic at Malaga, Spain. 

106. Isabella as a queen. By Mme. Thenon Nargeot. 



THE BIKTII AND EAKLV LIFE OE COLUMBUS. 



25 



SECTION C. THE BIRTH, BOYHOOD AND EARLY LIFE OF 

COLUMBUS. 



no. View of the harbor and city of Genoa. 




'I'll!' city and haihor of (iciioa. 

III. Genoese wool-comber. 

The fatlier of Columbus tollowccl llic very respectable Ira'le (it wool- 
comber, and acquired a little property through his wife Susanna. It is 
shown by the records that he was at one time the proprietor ot a house of 
public entertainment, but the two occupations do not seem to have kejit him 
out of debt, for he owed money to his neighbors, gave mortgages on his 
property, and his sons assisted him to pay the interest. There is evidence, 
too, that during the winter of 1499-1500 the heirs of Corrado de Cuneo got 
judgment against Christopher and his brother Diego on account of the 
failure of their father to pay for certain lands in tlu: town of Savona. 
iiia. View of the harbor of Genoa. 

Although the birthplace of Columbus may hv in doubt, the strongest 
jjrobabilities are in favor of Genoa, ills pedigree anil the movements of 



26 



THE RELICS OF COLUMRUS. 




his family have been traced with icmarkahlc patience by Henry Harisse, 
who found in tlie archives of Genoa iceovds of real estate transfers and 
other business transactions by the father of Columbus, about the date of 
his birth; and Columbus, in his will, says: " 1 was born in Genoa." In a 
subseiiuent paraii^raiih of tlu^ same iloeument he writes: "I came Irom 
there and there was 1 born." 

House at Quinto where the father and mother of Columbus lived and 
were married. 

The grandfather j 
of Columbus lived at 
Terrarossa, a ham- 
let about twenty 
miles northeast of 
Genoa, and there 
his father was born. 
Some time between 
1430 and 1445 he 
moved to Quinto al 
Mar, a little place 
on the coast four 
miles east of Genoa. 
The house in which 
he dwelt is still 
standing in the \"ia 
dei Colondni, No. 8, 
owned by IMr. Giu- 
seppe Pia^gio, anil 
occupied by several > ' '*"^'*' ^c 

peasant families. ' ' oi.l houso at Quinto. 

Here Domenico, the father of Christopher, was married to Susanna 
Fontanarossa, who came from Quezzi, antl belonged to a race of weavers. 
About 144() he moved into the city of Genoa, where he purchased a resi- 
dence, and in that year qualilied as a citizen. In 1471 Domenico Cttlum- 
bus went to Savona, where his wife ilied. About 1484 he returned to 
Genoa to reside with his daughter until his death, at an advancetl age, in 
1499 or 1500. He lived to see the triumph and enjoy the fame of his son, 
and it is believed that Christoi)her visited him after the lirst voyage. 
There is, in the Mimicijial Archives at Savona, a document witnessed by 
Columbus in IIT'J. l^n .\ugust '2(\ 1 tT'J, he endorsed a note for his 
father, and on August 7, 147;>, signed a dcc*\ vi>liin|uishiiig all claims to 
the house in Genoa. 






THE BIRTH AND EARLY LIFE OF COLUMBUS. 



27 




113. .Street in Genoa in which Columbus is said 
to have .been bom. 

The learned antiquarian, Marcel- 
lo Staglieno, of Genoa, identified 
the Vico dritto del Ponticello, 
No. 37, as the house in which Do- 
menico Columbus lived during the 
younger years of Christopher's life; ^^^ House in Genoa iu v/hicli Columbas is 
and it is f)robable, although not cer- said to have been bom. 

tain, that the latter was born there. The discovery of the ownership was 
made by tracing back the title to the property. Through the efforts 
of Cavaliere Giuseppe Bald, $6,300 was raised in June, 1887, the property 
was purchased and a tablet was placed over the door, with the Latin 




?8 



THE RELICS OF COLUMBUS. 



inscription, which, in English, reads: " No hovise better deserves an 
inscription. This is the paternal home of Christopher Columbus, where 
he passed his childhood and youth." The house was, at that time, just 
outside of the city walls o( (.lenoa. by the >i"ato of St. Andrew. 
115. Plan of the Columbus house at Genoa. (Several parts.) 

117. Room in which Columbus is alleged to have been born. 

120. General view of Cogoleto, Italy. 

Sonic writers argue that the republic instead of the city of Genoa was 
meant by Columbus when he saiiT that he was born there, which will 
admit to the controversy the claims of several suburban towns in which 
his family at one time resided. In the little village of Cogoleto. about 
fifteen miles from Genoa, an ancient structure is pointed out as the birth- 
place of Columbus and bears the following pretentious inscription: 
."TraAcler, stop at this place. It was heie that Columbus, the greatest 
man in the world, first saw the light; here in this hvnnble house! There 
was one world: this man spoke, and there were two." 

1 18. Beach at Cogoleto. which claims to have been the birthplace of Columbus. 




119. Views of the University of Pavia. 

It is generally believed, although often denied, that Columbus spent 
. some time during his boyhood at the I'niversity of Pavia, where he learned 
Latin, the principles of geography, and some knowledge of astronomv. 
The doctors of this university, which is still in existence, have erected a 
monumei\t to commemorate the glory of its famous pupil, and when his 
remains wore discovered at Santo Domingo, the archbishop of that repub- 






THE niKTH AND EAKI.Y LIFE OK COr,UMF5US. 2g 

lie consecrated his nicniory by sending a pinch of the ilhistrious dust 
there, as he did to (ienoa. 




121. Street in Cogoleto, Italy, in which it is claimed Columbus was born. 

122. House at Cogoleto in which it is said Columbus was born. 

123. Views of Pavia. 

Pavia is a city of Italy, about seventy miles north of Genoa. It was once 
known as the " City of One Hundred Towers," nearly all of which have 
fallen to ruin. In tlie time of Columbus the city was surrounded by 
rani[>arts, three and a half miles long, portions of which still exist. The 
first stone of the cathedral of San Stevano was laid at about the time that 
Columbus finished his studies at the university. This university was 
founded by Charlemagne, in the year 774, and was famous in the days of 
Columbus for the facilities it offered for obtaining scientific knowledge. 

124. Church at Lisbon in which Columbus was married. 

Columbus was married at Lisbon about lil-> or 1474, to Felipa Moniz 
Perestrello, the daughter of an Italian gentleman of good connections 
and fame as a navigator, who was identified with the colonization of the 
Madeira Islands, and was appointed governor of them by Prince Henry 
of Portugal. Christopher went to Lisbon in 1473, at the suggestion of his 
brother Bartholomew, who was already established there, because the 



30 THE RELICS OF COLUMBUS. 

Court of Portugal offered the greatest inducements to skilled navigators 
to join its fleets and participate in the enterprises which Prince Henry 
had inaugurated. It is probable that he assisted Bartholomew in the map 
business until they both secured employment in the navy. We know 
that Bartholomew was with the expedition that discovered the Cape of 
Good Hope, and we have Christopher's own testimony that he made a 
voyage down the African coast. 

125. Views of Porto Santo, Madeira Islands. 

There is a romantic story in the life of Columbus, by Las Casas, of his 
accidental encounter with Felipa at mass in the chapel of the Convent of 
All Saints at Lisbon and their love at first sight. Whether this be true or 
not it is evident that their courtship was brief, and that immediately after 
their marriage they went to Porto Santo, Madeira, where the father of 
Senora Columbus left a small estate. Here, while studying some maps 
and books that belonged to his father-in-law, it is supposed that Colum- 
bus first conceived the idea of seeking a passage to the Indies by 
sailing westward across the " Sea of Darkness," as the Atlantic was then 
called. Here, too, it is supposed his son Diego was born in 1475. Soon 
after the family appear to have returned to Lisbon, where we find 
Columbus submitting his theories to the king and corresponding with 
Toscanelli, the Florentine geographer, on the same subject. / 

126. Entrance to the house in which Columbus lived at Funchal, Madeira 

Islands. 

Columbus went to the Madeira Islands in 1474, and lived in Funchal. 
Pina Louveiro, the histt>rian of those islands, insists that he was married 
at Machico in 1475, instead of at Lisbon; that Diego was born in 1476, and 
that Felipa, his wife, died soon after and was buried in the cathedral at 
Funchal. There is an autograph letter of Columbus in the possession of 
the Duke de Veragua, his descendant, at Madrid, in which he says that 
when he departed from Portugal, which was probably in 1484, he left his 
wife and children — he writes in the plural — and never saw them again. 
That he took his little son to Spain with him we know, and when he 
stopped at the Monastery of La Rabida, near Palos, he was on his way to 
Huelva where his wife had a sister named Muliar, with whom he intended 
to leave Diego while he visited the court of Ferdinand and Isabella. 
But he never refers to his wife and 'children again, and the theory of the 
best authorities is that she, ami any other children there may have been, 
must have died shortly after his departure. 

127. House occupied by Columbus at Porto Santo, Madeira Islands. 

The house occupied by Columbus while he lived at Porto Santo, 
Madeira Islands, is supposed to have been built by his father-in-law, 



THE BIRTH AND EARLY LIFE OF COLUMBUS, 



31 



Bartholomew Perestrello, and a portion of it is still standing and in fairly 
good condition, being occupied by the vicar of the village church. The 
house was inhabited by the descendants of Perestrello until twenty years 
ago. 

128. Church at Porto Santo, Madeira Islands, where Columbus used to 

reside. 

The little chapel in the village of Porto Santo from all appearances is 
likely to stand for a thousand years to come. It is said to have been built 
by the father-in-law of Columbus, who is buried under the pavement. 

129. Front door of the house occupied by Columbus at Funchal, Madeira 

Islands. 

This house, which was 
situated on Rua de Chris- 
tavao Columbo, was built in 
1457, but having fallen into 
ruins was removed in 1857. 
Before jts removal these 
photographs were taken. 

130. Three ofthe window shutters 

from the house occupied 
by Columbus at Porto 
Santo, Madeira Islands. 

131. Block of barbosano wood 

from the house occupied 

by Columbus at Porto 

Santo, Madeira Islands. 

Supposed to have been 

erected by Bartholomew^ 

Perestrello in 1471. 

This block of wood was 
taken from the doorstep 
upon which the large doors 
hung. 

House occnijied by Columbus at Funchal. 

132. Inside doors of the house occupied by Columbus and his wife Felipa at 

Porto Santo. 

It is believed Columbus left Lisbon to escape arrest for debt. His 
own statement shows that he was indignant at the action of the king in 
secretly sending an expedition into the western sea to ascertain the 




32 THE RELICS OF COLUMBUS. 

truth of his theories; but there is a record of his application to Prince 
John II of Portugal for a passport to visit Lisbon to see his brother 
Bartholomew, who had just returned from the expedition to the Cape of 
Good Hope. This document, which was issued on the 20th of March, 
■ 1488, guarantees him against arrest or detention on any criminal or civil 
charge during his stay in Portugal, and commands all magistrates 
to re ipect iL On meeting Bartholomew he sent him to London to lay 
his plans for a western voyage before King Henry ^'II of England. 

133. Table made of wood taken from the house occupied by Columbus at 

Funchal, Madeira Islands. 

Loaned by Dr. Jose Leite Monteiro. 

The house from which the timber was taken to make this table was 
built in 1457 and was the property of John Esmeraldo, a wealthy Genoese 
who went to Funchal in 1480. Esmeraldo built several tine mansions at 
Funchal on the street which bears his name. He died June 19, 1536, and 
was buried in the church which he had erected in 1494. The house fell 
into ruin with time, and in 1877 what was left of it was removed. Dr. 
Jose Leite Monteiro purchased all the wood in the building, and among 
other things had this table made. 

134. Cane made from ■wood taken from the house occupied by Christopher 

Columbus at Porto Santo, Madeira Islands. 

Presented to Mr. Blaine by John F. lloaly, I'. S. Consul at Funchal, 
Madeira. 

135. Cane made from wood taken from the house occupied by Christopher 

Columbus at Porto Santo, Madeira Islands. 

Presenteil to William E. Curtis by John F. Healy, U. S. Consul at 
Funchal, Madeira. 

136. Relics from the house occupied by Columbus while he lived at Porto 

Santo, Madeira Islands. 

Supposed to have been erected as his family home by Bartholomew 
Perestrello, the father-in-law of Columbus. .Secured for the World's 
Columbian Exposition by John F. Healy, U. S. Consul at Funchal, 
Madeira. 

137. View of the city of Lisbon when Columbus lived. 

138. View of the exterior of the Castle of Medina-Celi and the interior of 

the chapel. 

Here Columbus spent several months endeavoring to persuade the 
Duke of Medina-Celi to fit out an expedition. 



TIIK CAKKKK OI' COLUMBUS IN SI'AIN. 33 



SECTION D. THE CAREER OF COLUMBUS IN SPAIN. 



140. View of Huelva, Spain. 

A lew iiiik's luirlU of Cadiz, on tlie Atlantic coast of Spain, about half 
way between the straits of Ciibraltav and the boundary of I'ortufjjal, near 
the mouth of the Rio Tinto, are the famous mines of Huelva which, tra- 
dition tells us, furnished the ct)pper used in the construction of Solo- 
mon's Temjile. and which, indeed, are clanned to have been worked 
bcloie the llood. 1 hat tiiey were rti)erated liy the Plutnicians long before 
the (,'lnislian era, and afterward by the Romans, there is little doubt, as 
remains of both races ha\e been discovered in that locality; and tlie his- 
tory (I the mines is as old as human knowledge of Spain. They are 
now owiKil and operated by an l-'nglish corjxjration. 

Near the town of Muelva, toward the end of the tifteenth century, dwelt 
the sister of the wife of Christopher Columbus, one Senora Midiar, the 
datiLihtcr of Senor bartliolonu'w I'erestrcllo of Lisbon, of wliom v.'c 
know nothinj;' but her name. 

141. Vic w of the monastery of La Rabida. 

( )n the siunmit of a low iieadland, between the Tinto and ( )dii'l rivers, 
which meet at its base, a It-w miles I rom the sea, stands a I'icI uresciue 
and solitary monastery, erected in the seconil century after I Inist. The 
Moors called it La Rabida, which signifies an out-post on the frontier. 
When the ^^lslems wimc driven from Andalusia it i)assi'(l into the 
|iossession ol tiie l'"ranciscan order, who remodeled it and called it 
Santa Maria de la Rabida. 

14.?. Columbus at the monastery gate. 
Original by Leopold I'lameng. 

This is a favorite subject with artists and has often been depicted— the 
Itilnre discoverer of a world, like an ordinary beggar, asking for bread 
and water for his son at the gate of the convent of La Rabida. There 
are two spots that should ever be associated with the fortunes of Colum- 
bus and should bi; icgarded as the turning jioinls of his career the 

con\i'nt-])ortal of La Rabida and the Bridge of Tines on the plain of 
Granada. At the one he was encouraged to hope for the Queen's favor, 
and at the other he was turned back to learn of her decision to undertake 
the voyage to the New World. 

143. Title of Columbus sketches by H. F. Pluddemann. 



34 



THE RELICS OF COLUMBUS. 



144. Columbus at La Rabida. 

By H. F. Pluddemann. 
Germany, 



Loaned by Mrs. Pluddemann, Weisserhirsch, 







Monabtery of La Rabida as it appeared in 1890 before its 1 ebtoration to its 
condition at the time of Columbus. 

145. Columbus at the monastery of La Rabida. 

By Eugene Delacroix. 

It is not certain when Columbus first appeared at La Rabida, Some 
authorities assert that he came there from Portugal in 1484, on his way 
to Huelva, where he intended to leave little Diego, then nine years old, 
with his wife's relatives, and obtain from them means to pay his way to 
the court of Ferdinand and Isabella, to submit his plans for a voyage 
across the western ocean. Others insist that he did not visit Palos and 
La Rabida uiitil two years later. A careful investigation of the evidence 
shows that it is quite possible that he may have stopped at the monas- 
tery immediately upon his arrival in Spain, left his child at Moguer, 
secured money to pay the expense of his journey, and two years later, 
after the rejection of his proposal, returned to take Diego with him as he 
was leaving the country, disheartened at the indifference and procrasti- 
nation of the court. 

146. Columbus asking bread at the monastery of La Rabida. 

Original in the monastery of La Rabida. 

152, Columbus and the monk Marchena, 

There has been a great deal of confusion in the minds of most of the 
biographers of Columbus and other writers of history, because there 
were two monks by the name of Marchena who gave aid and comfort to 
the Admiral. One was Juan Perez de Marchena, who was formerly 
confessor to Queen Isabella, and afterward prior of the monastery of 
La Rabida, The other was Father Antonio de Marchena, a learned 



THE CAREER OF COLUMBUS IN SPAIN, 



35 




astronomer and geographer, who was a member of the Council of Monks 
at Salamanca, and endorsed the theories of Columbus as to a western 
passage to the Indies. He was appointed astronomer to the expedition 
that went out under Columbus in 1493, but for some reason did not go. 

147. Cross erected on the spot where Columbus asked 

the prior of La Rabida for bread and water. 

An iron cross, set in a foundation of stone and 
mortar, marks the spot where, it is said, Columbus 
had his first interview with the prior of the con- 
vent. It is near the main portal, and from this 
spot is a most magnificent view of the headland, 
the convent, and the bay, beyond which is the town 
of Huelva, the center of the copper mining region 
and its shipping port, its white sails shining in the 
sun. 

148. Chart showing location of Palos and the mon" 

astery. 

149. Columbus explaining his theories at La Rabida. 

Original in the convent at La Rabida. Memorial Cross. 

150. Juan Perez de Marchena, prior of the monastery of T-a Rabida. 

(In the chapel.) 

When Columbus stopped at La Rabida for food, 
Juan Perez de Marchena, the prior, entered into con- 
versation with him. Observing from his appearance 
and language that Columbus was a man of learning, 
he invited him and his son Diego into the convent, 
where they were given refreshment, and asked to 
remain until they had recovered from the fatigue of 
their journey. In the meantime the friar had drawn 
from Columbus something of his plans, and being 
learned in the science of geography, took a great 
interest in the strange theories and remarkable char- 
acter of his guest. Father Perez had formerly been 
confessor to Queen Isabell*, but weary of the frivoli- 
ties of the court had retired to La Rabida, to enjoy 
peace and quiet and to pursue his studies. 

151. Columbus explaining his theories at the monastery of La Rabida. 

By Sir David Wilkie. 

There lived at Palos a learned physician by the name of Fernandez 
Garcia, who was also a student of cosmography. He and the famous 
navigator, Martin Alonzo Pinzon, were summoned to the monastery by 




Father Perez. 



THE RELICS OF COLUMBUS. 



Father Perez to hear the theories ami plans of Columbus. The confer- 
ences at the old convent have l)ceu a favorite subject for artists for 
three hundred years. (Tiie conferences took place in the room where 
the portraits arc exhibited, in the northwest corner of the building.) 





^^ '•'-'"fafS^. 




I.ow' ' ■' -I 1 r La Ivnbida 

^53- Columbus explaining his 
theories to the prior. 
ria>|uc matlc at the por- 
colain factory which now Altar of the chapel, 

occupies the old Monastery of Carluja, near Seville, in w^hich Columbus 
spent his last days. 

154. Interior of the chapel at La Rabida. 

155. Cloisters of convent of La Rabida, Spam. 

In the center of the convent is a beautiful patio, around which are the 
cloisters formerly occupied by the gooil old monks, empty and forsaken, 
but still clean and neat. A narrow corridor runs around the patio, which 
is tilled with flowers and orange trees. 

156. Columbus at the monastery. 

157. Room occupied by Columbus in the monastery of La Rabida. 

Columbus s[iont several impatient, but important months at La Rab- 
ida. At the suggestion of Pinzon, who furnished him money to pay his 
expenses, he applied for men and vessels to several petty princes along 
the southern coast of Spain. They owned vast estates, with fleets and 
armies of retainers,but were subject to the Crown of Spain. They re- 
jected his propositions, with the exception of the Duke of Medina-Celi, 



THE CAREER OF COLUMBUS IN SPAIN. 37 

who regarded them favorably from the very first, and would have fur- 
nished him money and vessels, but for fear that the enterprise might not 
be regartled favorably by the sovereigns. 
158. Views of Cordova. 

Ferdinand and Isabella were at Cordova when Columbus arrived, and 
thither he went. His arrival was at an uhpl*opitious moment. He found 
the city in all the bustle of military preparation. The rival kings of 
Granada had formed a coalition, and their league called for prompt and 
vigorous measures. All the chivalry of Spain had been summoned to 
the held. The streets of Cordova echoed to the tramp of steed and 
sound of trumpet, as day by day the nobles arrived with their retainers, 
and the court was like a military camp. 

159a. Old Roman gate of Cordova, and the house in which Columbus dwelt 

for several months. 

The wall that was built around the city of Cordova when the Rorrans 
occupied it still stands, and the old gates, which were protected by for- 
tified towers, remain as they were seven centuries ago. Just inside one 
of these portals, which is known as the Columbus gate, is a one-story 
adobe house, in which Columbus is -said to have lived during his stay in 
Cordova. The house occupied by the family of Beatriz Enricjuez, which 
must have been a very iriiposing dwelling in that day, is now a second- 
class hotel, and stands across the street from the famous Moorish 
mosque. 

159b. View of Cordova, Spain, showing the Royal Palace Cathedral and old 
Roman bridge. 

161. Portrait of Pedro Gonzalez de Mendoza, Grand Cardinal of Spain. 

During the winter of 14iS()-S7 Columlnis followed the Court from Cor- 
dova to Salamanca, where, through the iniluence of a zealous friend, he 
secured an audience with Pedro Gonzalez de Mendoza, the Grand Car- 
dinal of Spain, wlinse influence with his sovereigns was unsurpassed. 
The Cardinal determined that the ])lans of Columbus were worthy the 
attention of the Crown, and in the spring of 1487 obtained for him admis- 
sion to the royal presence. (2ueen Isabella received Ccjlumbus with 
great favor, and was at once impressed with the great importance and 
practicability of his enterprise; but the King was more conservative and 
suggested that the proposition be investigated by experts. Accordingly, 
Fernando de Talavera, prior of the monastery of Prado and confessor 
to the Queen, was conmianded to assemble the most learned astrono- 
mers and geografjliers in the kingdom, in order that Columbus might 
submit his plans and theories to them. 



3S 



'lllK KKl.KS OF COLUMBUS. 



l6o. Mosque of Cordova. 

Conlov a is the capi- 
tal of a province of 
the same name in An- 
dalusia, on the River 
Guadak]uivir, seventy 
miles tioni Seville. 
The most interesting" 
building in the city is 
the cathedral, origin- 
ally built as a n\osque 
by Abderrahman I, in 
the eighth century. Its 
interior is one of the 
linest specimens ot 
Moorish architecture. 
l\issing through a 
grand courtyard about 
the hundred feet in 
length, shaded with 
palm, cypress and 
orange trees, t resh witli 
the t1o\v of fountains, 
you enter a magnili- 
cent and bewildering 
labyrinth of pillars. 
Porphyry, jasper and 
marbles of many a 
tint are In^ldly com- 
bineil in a matchless Tower of St. Nicholas, Oonlova. 

mosaic. The pillars were collected from various parts of the world, being 
of ilitTerent lengths and adjusted to their present position by being sunk 
into the ground or raised by capitals, as was necessary. Twelve hundred 
was the number in the original ItuiUling, but there are oitly one thou- 
sand remaining. Ci>lumbus lingered in Cordova during the summer and 
autumn of 1480, doubtless worshipping in this magnificent cathedral 
and making some friends who afterward were of great service to him 
In the winter he followed the Court to Salamanca. 

162. Portrait of Fernando de Talavera. 

165. Columbus before the Dominicans at Salamanca. 

By H. F. riuddemann. Loaned by Protessor Khrhardl, Wolfeitbuttel, 
Cicrmanv. 




i 



THE CAREER OF COLUMBUS IN SP/MN. 



39 



163. General view of the city of Salamanca, where Columbus appeared 
before the council of monks. 




164. Panorama of Salamanca. 

166. Columbus before the ecclesiastical council at Salamanca. 

()ri,t,Mii;il ))y Rotini,'-, in tlie Royal (lallcry at Dicsdeii. 

167. Columbus before the council of Salamanca. 

Original by the Pcruviuu painter, Miirino, in National Library at Lima. 

168. Columbus before the council of monks. 

Loaned by T. Kanfniann, New \drk city. (In the chapel, l-'or sale.) 

169. Columbus before the Dominicans. 

Oritrinal l)y V. Izcjuienlo. 

170. Columbus before the Dominican's. 

(Jriginal by V. Maso. 

171. Columbus before the council of Salamanca. 

( )riLj;inal by Leopold I'lanieng. 

172. Columbus before the junta. 

()ri,t,nnal by Leoi)ol<l Flamcn.t^. 

173. Portrait of Father Diego de Deza. 

By Lingo Gregori. Original in LTniversity of Notre Dame, South 
Bend, Ind. 

On the monument to Deza in the cathedral at Seville he is described 
as a generous and faithful [jatron of C<jlumbus. 

174. Present appearance of house at Salamanca in which Columbus lived. 

At Valcuebo, a country farm once f)elonging to the Dominicans of 
Salamanca, Columbus was entertained by Diego de Deza, prior of the 
great Dominican convent of San Estaban and professor of theology at 



40 



THE RELICS OF COLUMBUS. 



Salamanca, while the junta (committee) of Spanish ecclesiastics consid- 
ered his propositions. His residence there was a peaceful oasis in the 
stormy life of the great discoverer. The little grange still stands at a 
distance of about three miles west of Salamanca, and the country people 
have a tradition that on the crest of a small hill near the house, now 
called "Teso de Colon" (Columbus Peak), the future discoverer used to 
pass long hours conferring with his visitors or reading in solitude. The 
present owner, Don Martin de Solis, has erected a monument on this 
hill, consisting of a stone pyramid surmounted by a globe. It commem- 
orates the spot where the storm-tossed hero enjoyed a brief interval of 
peace and rest. 

175. The room, "De Profundis," Convent of Salamanca, in which Columbus 

appeared before the council of monks. 

The conference met in the Dominican convent of San Esteban at 
Salamanca in a room on the south side of the building called "De Pro- 
fundis." It was composed of the monks of San Esteban and the faculty 
of the I'nivcrsity of Salamanca. 
Cathedral at Salamanca. 

The old cathedral of Salamanca is a cruci- 
form structure of 
the twelfth century, 
of the late Roman- 
esque style, with 
original treatment 



^ 176 




Cathedral at Salamanca, 
in the construction of the dome. Adjoining the old cathedral stands the 
"new" one, begun in LM.'j, ami not tniishod until 1~;U, a line example i>f 



THE CAREER OF COLUMBUS IN SPAIN, 



41 



the later Gothic of Spain, and very rich in treasures, notably a bronze 
crucifix, which was borne in battle before the Cid. 

177. Columbus before the monks. 

Original by Barabino. Owned by Count Orsini in Genoa, Italy. 

The doctors of the University x>f Salamanca pronounced the theories 
of Columbus vain and visionary and contrary to the teachings of the 
Scriptures, wondering that any one could be so foolish as to believe that 
the earth was round; that people walked on the other side with their 
heads downward; that there was a part of the world where the trees and 
plants grew down instead of u\>% 

178. Views of the Church of Santo Domingo at Salamanca, Spain. 

179. Christopher Columbus at the Court of Isabella. 

Original by Brozik Vacslav,in the Metropolitan Museum, New York city. 

After the council at Salamanca, Tala^vera was ordered to inform Colum- 
bus that the expenses of the war with the Moors forbade the undertak- 
ing of new enterprises. Columbus thereupon returned to La Rabida, 
intending to leave the country for France. Then Father Perez, presum- 
ing upon his former relations with Queen Isabella, wrote her a letter 
begging that so noble an enterprise might not be abandoned, and so 
great an opportunity to advance the interests of Christianity lost to 
Spain. So powerful was his persuasion that Columbus was sent for and 
funds furnished him from the treasury to enable him to appear in proper 
garb and pay the expenses of his journey. The sum furnished was 
equal to about $216 of our present currency. 

180. The recall of Columbus by Isabella. 

By H. F Pluddemann. Loaned by Mrs. Pluddemann, Dresden^ 
Germany. 

181. Recall of Columbus. 

Original by Augustus G. 
Heaton, from the Capitol at 
Washington. Loaned by vote of 
tlie Congress of the LInited 
States. (In the cluipel.) 

182. Columbus received by Isabella 

after being overtaken at the 

Bridge of Pines. 

^^y Jover. The recall. 

When Columbus learned of the decision to reject his i)lans he 
started for Palos, intending to take his child and go to France, where 
he hoped to receive encouragement from the King. After his departure, 




42 



THE RELICS OF COLUMBUS. 



183. 



184. 



185. 



Queen Isabella, urged by Santangel and others, reconsidered the deci- 
sion and sent a messenger after Columbus. 
Bridge of Pines, Spain. 

After the recall of Columbus, persons of importance were appointed 
to negotiate with him, chief of whom was Ferdinand de Talavera, who 
had just been appointed Bishop of Granada; but the terms of the proud 
sailor were pronounced unreasonable. He claimed the titles and privi- 
leges of viceroyalty and the sovereignty, under the Crown of Spain, of 
all the lands he should discover, with one-tenth of all they should pro- 
duce; and his demands were promptly rejected. 




Bridge of Pines ns 1 ,1 ~ 10 li.p. 

Not far from the city of Granada but nearer to Santa FtS stands a 
fine bridge spanning a stream of some volume. It is massively built, 
with turrets and abutments, and is known as the Bridge of Pines. Here 
Columbus was overtaken, and it may be looked upon as the point at 
which his fortunes began. He returned to /Santa Fe and there signed 
the "Capitulation " that gave him the means to discover the New World. 
Columbus presenting his plans to Ferdinand and Isabella. 

By Vacslav Brozik, 1887. Loaned by 1'. C. Hanford, Chicago. (In the 
chai^el.) 
Isabella offering her jewels. 

Original in the Senate Chamber, Madrid. By Munoz y Degrain. 

King Ferdinand objected to the expense required to fit out a fleet for 
Columbus, because the treasury had been exhausted by the war with 



THE CAREER OF COLUMBUS IN SPAIN. 



43 



i86. 



the Moors. With a woman's enthusiasm, Isahelhi exclaimed: "I will 
undertake the enterprise for my own Crown of Castile, and will pledge 
my jewels to raise the necessary funds!" 

Portrait of Luis de Santangel. 

But Luis de Santangel, receiver of the ecclesi- 
astical revenues of the kingdom of Aragon, 
agreed to loan the funds from the revenues in his 
possession. He was always friendly to Columbus, 
and one of his most influential advocates at Court. 
It was to him that Columbus wrote the first account 
of the discovery. 

The amount of money furnished to pay the 
expense of the voyage has been the subject of con- 
troversy, owing to the difficulty of determining the 
value of the marevedi, the coin of those days, as 
compared with modern currency. The smallest 
estimate is $3,000 and the highest $7,000. 




Portrait of Cardinal Ximines de Cisneros, of Spain 



Santangel. 




Isabi'lla olk-riiig liur jewels. 

i88. View of Pales, Spain. 

Palos was once a flourishing city, but is now deserted by all but a few 
fishermen and farmers. A bar has formed at the mouth of the river, and 
the water is so low that where the fleets used to float, sea grass is now 
growing. At this port was organized and equipped the expedition that 



44 



THE RELICS OF COLUMBUS. 



discovered the New World, and from its docks on the 3d of August, 
1492, Columbus set sail. In May, 1528, Cortez landed at Palos after the 
conquest of Mexico, and by a strange coincidence met there Francisco 
Pizarro, who was just starting upon his career of bloodshed and devasta- 
tion in Peru. 

The town of Palos was selected as a place of departure fur Columbus, 
because its inhabitants, on account of a disturbance that had taken place 
among them during the war with the Moors, had been condemned to 
keep, at their own expense, two caravels with crews and arms at the 
service of the State for one year, and ready for sea on receipt of orders. 
At Palos, therefore, on the 23d of May, 1492, Columbus and the royal 
notary went to the church of St. George, with all the customary formali- 
ties, and in the presence of the Alcalde and other magistrates, and a mul- 
titude of people, read the order of the sovereign commanding the city to 
fit out two caravels and place them at the disposal of Columbus. 

189. Ancient fortilication at Palos. 

190. Reading of the royal order commanding the citizens of Palos to furnish 

boats and men. 

(The original of the order is on exhibition in the chapel, No. 903.) 

191. Old church register at Palos showing the record of the baptism of the 

crew of Columbus before they sailed. 

192. View of the road which Columbus traveled between Palos and the Con- 

vent of La Rabida. 

From a photograph by A. W. Wheeler, Chicago. 

The road from Palos to La Rabida is unattractive, with few houses 
contiguous, and no noteworthy object to attract the attention, until the 
convent rises above the traveler, white and glistening, upon a hill. 

193. La Casa del Campo. 

From a photograph by A. W. 
Wheeler, Chicago. 

Between La Rabida and the 
village of Palos is a half ruined 
building called " La Casa del 
Campo " — The Country House 
— which was then a tavern, in 
which Columbus, it is said, 
stopped tcT rest and chat with 
the people on his journeys to 
and fro when he was preparing 
for the exjiedition. 

194. Portrait of Alonzo Pinzon. 

By Leopold Flameng. 




La Casa del Campo. 



THE CAREER OF COLUMBUS IN SPAIN. 



45 



Had it not been for the assistance of Martin Alonzo and Vicente 
Yanez Pinzon, Columbus would have had great difficulty in securing the 
necessary ships and men for the voyage. Martin Alonzo was of sturdy 
stock, and the Pinzon family still survive in the homes of its ancestors, 
at Moguer, near Palos. The ancestral residence is there, and over the 
door the coat-ot-arms granted them by Charles V, emblematic of their 
service as explorers. 

195. Present appearance of the Church of St. George. 

The Church of St. 
George still stands just 
as it did when the Al- 
calde, in May, 1492, 
read from its pulpit 
the proclamation of the 
sovereigns command- 
ing the people of Palos 
to furnish ships for the 
use of Columbus. On 
the records of the 
church are the names 
of the sailors who re- 
ceived conmiunion tlie 
morning of their de- 
parture. 

196. Priest at Church of St. George, Palos, and the miraculous Virgin. 

From a photograph by A. W. Wheeler, Chicago. 

There is a miracle-working image of the Virgin in the old church at 
Palos to which the sailors who accompanied Columbus made vows. It 
stands in the same place now and is still believed to be endowed with 
divine power. 

197. Bricks and tiles from the original monastery of La Rabida, Palos, 

Spain. 

Some of them are supposed to be sixteen centuries old. 

198. Bust of Columbus, and flag from the Convent of La Rabida.. 

Used at the commemorative ceremonies on the 14th of October, 1892. 
Presented to the government of the United States by the alcalde and 
ayuntamiento of Huelva. 

On the 3d of August, 1892, the alcalde of Palos raised the flag of the 
United States over the Convent of La Rabida and sent the following 
message to the President of the United States: 

La Rabida, August 3(1. The Phesident: To-day, four hundred years ago, Colum- 
bus sailed from Palos discovering America. The Unit<?d States flag is being hoisted 




46 THE RELICS QF COLUMBUS. 

tliis moment in front of tlio Convent La Kabida, along with banners of all the American 
States. Batteries and ships siilntinfi, aocompanie«.i by entliusiastic acclamations of the 
piHiple, army and navy. God bless America. PKIETO, 

Alcalde of Palos. 
To tliis messajje the Hon. John W. Foster, Secretary of State of the 
United States, made the following reply: 

Senor Puieto, Alcalde de Palos, La Rabida, Spain: The President of the United 
States directs me to cordially acknowledge your message of greeting. On this memor- 
able day, tlius fittinjily celebrateil, the people of the new western world, in grateful 
reverence to the name and fame of Columbus, join hands with the sons of the brave 
sailors of Palos and Huelva who maunetl the discoverer's ctiravels. FOSTER, 

Secretary of State. 
rgg. Door and door-jamb from the original Convent of La Rabida. 

Presented to the National Museum at Washington by Robert W, 
Turner, U. S. Consul at Cadiz, Spain. 



1 



SCENES ASSOCIATED WITH THE FIRST VOYAGE. 4^ 



SECTION E. SCENES ASSOCIATED WITH THE FIRST VOYAGE 

OF COLUMBUS. 



205. Columbus taking leave of Father Perez de Marchena, August 3, 1492. 

Original in Convent of La Ra])ida. 

Before setting sail, on the morning of August 3, 1492, Columl)us 
attended mass in the chapel of the monastery of La Rabida, partook of 
the communii)n from the hands of his faithful friend, Father Perez de 
Marchena, and was accompanied ]:)y him to the bar of Saltes, a small 
island near the mouth of the Odiel. 

206. Celumbus bidding farewell to Father Juan Perez de Marchena on his 

departure from Palos. 

Original by Jover. 

Upon his departure from Palos, Columbus intended to sail south to tiie 
Canary Islands, and then due west to the Island of Cipango (Japan); 
thence to Mangi, or Cathay (China), the land whose wonders, wealth and 
magnificence had been described by Marco Polo. He therefore carried 
with him a letter of credentials to the sovereigns of these nations from 
the King and (2ueen of Spain, of which the following is a translation: 

Ferdinand and Isabella to the King: 

The Spanish sovenuKQs h'lvo he:ird that you and your subjects have great affection 
for them and for Spain. They are fnrtlier aware that you and your Bubjects are desir- 
ous of information respecting Spain. They, therefore, cordially send their Grand 
Admiral, ('hi-istoi)her Columbus, who will tell you that they are in good liealth and 
perfect prosiierity. 

I, THE KING. 
I, THE QUEEN. 

It is an interesting coijicidence, and worthy of the attention of the 
superstitious, that the contract between Columbus and the sovereigns 
was signed on Friday; that he sailed from Palos on Friday; discovered 
land on Friday; set sail homeward on Friday, and reached Palos on 
Friday. 
209. The Caravel "Santa Maria," as reproduced by the Spanish government. 
The "Santa Maria" had three masts, square sails on the fore and main 
masts, and lateen aft. She was high out of the water, with castles at bow 
and stern, and carried the royal standard of Spain at the main (quar- 
tered with the lions and castles of Leon and Castile), a flag with a green 
cross in the center at the fore, and the royal pennant at the mizzen yard. 



48 



THE RELICS OF COLUMBUS. 



2C7. 



The caravel "Santa Maria," in whicli Columbus sailed, was owned by 
Juan do la Cosa, who accompanied Columbus as pilot, and afterward 
made tlie cliart of the New W'orUl. She was about one hundred and 
twenty tons burden, sixty-three feet over all, fifty-one feet keel, and ten 
and a half feet draught. She carried four small guns called lombards, 
and a crew of seventy men. The entire exjiedition consisted of only 
one hundred and twenty men, and carried provisions for six months. 
There was an Irishman in tlie crow of Columbus, William Harris, of 
Galway, and an PInglishman named Arthur Lake. 

The "Pinta" had a crew of thirty men, with Martin Alonzo Pinzon cap- 
tain, and her two owners, Gomez Rascon and Cristobal Ouintero. All of 
the crew of the "Pinta" were from Palos or the immediate vicinity. The 
crew of the "Nina" consisted of only twenty men, with Vicente Yanez 
Pinzon ascaptain, who was also the owner of the vessel. 
Departure of Columbus on his voyage to America, (thiginal by G!sbert.) 

On the tiiird day out an accident 
happened to tlie " Pinta," by whicli 
they were obliged to put \nUi the 
t "aiiary Islands to repair damages, 
Alter some weeks on tlusi. i-' ■ '- 





Father Perez bidiliut; farewell to Columbus, 
they went out into the unknown sea, the Uth of September, the last land 
visible being the mountains of Ferro. 
208. The caravels of Columbus. 

From " La Rovista ile la Marina," a Spanish marine journal. 
In a plan for a historical exhibit at the World's Columbian Fxposition, 
which was prepared by William E. Curtis, director of the Bureau of the 
American Republics, and submitted to Congress by the Hon. James G- 
Blaine, it was proposed to reproduce in fac-simile the fleet of Columbus, 
and anchor the vessels off the shore at Jackson Park during the Exposi- 



SCENES ASSOCIATED WITH THE FIRST VOYAGE. 49 

tion, ill such a manner as to place them in contrast with the model bat- 
tle-ship which represents the naval architecture of this century. The 
plan having received the approval of Congress, the responsibility of 
carrying it into effect was imposed upon Mr. Curtis, the author, and at 
his request the Secretary of the Navy detailed Lieutenant W. McCarty 
Little as an expert to take immediate charge of the work. After several 
weeks of investigation, it was determined that the caravels could not be 
constructed with either accuracy or economy in the United States, and 
Lieutenant Little was sent to Madrid to seek the co-operation of the 
Spanish government in making the designs and constructing the vessels. 
At his request the minister of marine appointed a board of naval archi- 
tects and archaeologists who, after several months of study and investi- 
gation, prepared plans for the reproduction of the "Santa Maria," which 
was the flagshi[) of Columbus, and the "Pinta" and "Nina" which com- 
posed his fleet. The Spanish government also agreed to undertake the 
construction of the first named and larger vessel, provided the United 
States would build the two smaller caravels. But Congress having 
failed to provide funds for the inirjiose, Mr. Curtis appealed to Mr. 
Lyman J. Gage, of Chicago, who generously advanced a sum sufficient 
to make the first payment, and agreed to furnish as much more as was 
necessary, with tiie undcrstandiiig tiiat in case an appropriation was 
made by Congress it should be refunded to him. The Board of Direct- 
ors of the World's Columbian P'xposition afterward assumed the respon- 
sibility, and work on the caravels was commenced at Barcelona. Con- 
gress made an ajipropriation to pay for them, and the money advanced 
by Mr. Gage was refunded. 

The three caravels were completed in time to take part in the festivities 
at Huelva, vSpain, on the 12th of October, 1892, and were the chief attrac- 
tion on that occasion, being visiter! by the Queen and royal family and by 
thousands of visitors at that place. The "Santa Maria" was commanded 
by Captain Concas, of the Spanish Navy, and the other caravels by Lieu- 
tenant Howard and Lieutenant Coffin, of the United States Navy. 

On the 6th of February the "Santa Maria" started from Cadiz, under 
command of Captain Concas, for a voyage across the Atlantic, and on 
the 19th of the same month the "Nina" and "Pinta" followed, being con- 
voyed by the flagship "Newark" and the man-of-war "Bennington," of the 
United States Navy. They were delivered to the Spanish authorities at 
Havana, and were towed to Hampton Roads by Spanish men-of-war. 
They afterward participated in the naval review at New York, where 
they were the most interesting vessels in the great international fleet. 
Columbus on the deck of his ship. 

Many strange things were seen by the Spaniards, of which they told 



50 THE RELICS OF COLUMBUS. 

on their return, and their preposterous tales formed a considerable por- 
tion of the literature of Europe during the following century. Their 
yarns and those related by other returning voyagers, when they finally 
found their way into books, afforded the artists of the day material for 
some fantastic illustrations concerning the birds and fishes seen at sea, 
and the appearance and customs of the natives of the new world. Theo- 
dore de Brv, an author and engraver of Antwerp, published a volume of 
large size, cojiiously illustrated, which has become one of the rarest and 
most valuable examples of early .l/ni-n\a/m. 

211. Mutiny at sea. 

Tainted by Detouche (Laurent Didicr). Loaned by the Municipal 
Government of Rheims, France. 

Several tunes during the tirst voyage to the New World, the crews of 
Columbus were on the verge of mutiny, but did not break out into open 
■ rebellion. The two important crises were about the last of September, 
and again a few days before the discovery of land; in both cases being 
probably prevented by the signs of land, or a change in the weather that 
had been ominous before. 

212. Chart of part of the Bahama Islands, showing the tracks ascribed to 

Columbus on his discovery of the New World. 

The generally accepted and revised route of Columbus, as laid down 
by latest authorities, reads: Watling's Island, Rum Cay, Long Island, 
Crot>ked and Fortune Islands, Mucares Islands or 1'\hama Bank, to the 
coast of Cuba, at the Port of Jibara. 

213. "The first cry of land." 

By Frederick Strasser, I80I. Loaned by Carl Pixis, Germany. 

Frederick Strasser, formerly of Salzberg, Germany, painted this pict- 
ure while in prison at Kaiserslantern, Rhenish Bavaria, undergoing 
sentence for participation in the revolution of 1818. Upon his release in 
1856 he emigrated to the Ihiited States. 

About 10 o'clock on the night of October 11, 14i>'-', the eve of the dis- 
covery, Columbus claimed to have seen a moving light two leagues 
ahead of the "Santa Maria," and jiointed it out to Pedro Gutierrez and 
others of the crew. This was probably a torch in the hands of the wife 
of a fisherman who, according to the custom of the natives then, and the 
inhabitants of the island of the present day, was perhaps showing a bea- 
con to guide her belated husband home. The admiral ordered a vigilant 
watch to be kept, and promised a silken jacket in addition to the pension 
which the King and Queen had oftered to the fortunate man who should 
first descry the coveted land. As light broke in the morning, Rodrigo 
de Triana, one of the sailors of tl-.e "Pinta," shouted "ticrra o/io.'" and a 
gun was fired to convey the glad intelligence. The reward was claimed 



SCENES ASSOCIATED WITH THE FIRST VOYAGE, 5 1 

by and given to Columbus, because he saw the light the night before. 
Rodrigo was so disgusted that he left Spain and went to Constantinoi)le, 
where he renounced his religion and became a Moslem. 

214. First sight of land by Columbus. 

Oil painting hy H. V. Pluddemann. Loaned by Mrs. Pluddemann, 
W^eisscrhirsch, Germany. 

215. The caravel "Pinta." 

Hy Rudoljih Cronau. 

216. Landing of Columbus. 

By Puebla. Original in National Museum, Madrid. 

217. Landing of Columbus. 

ISy \'anderlyn. Original in the Capitol at Washington.' 
On the morning of P>iday, October 12, 1492, Columbus landed, with a 
boat-load of sailors from each of the caravels. He bore the royal stand- 
ard and the banner of Aragon and Castile. As he stepped upon the 
shores he proclaimed formal possession in the name of the sovereigns, 
which was duly recorded by the notary. Then, according to early 
writers, he knelt and offered the following prayer: "Oh, Lord, Eternal 
and Almighty God, by Thy Sacred Word Thou hast created the heavens, 
the earth and the sea; blessed and glorihed be Thy name, and praised 
be Thy majesty, who has deigned to use Thy humble servant to make 
Thy sacred name known and proclaimed in the other parts of the world." 

218. Landing of Columbus. 

Hy Gabrini, Rome, 1892. (In the chajiel. For sale.) 

219. Columbus taking possession of the Island of San Salvador. 

Original by Isidro Gil in Circle of l-'ine Arts, Madrid, Spain. 

The little fleet was anchored at a distance from the shore, and the two 
brothers Pinzon, each with a banner having on it the letters F. and I., 
initials of the Spanish sovereigns, accompanied Columbus in their own 
boats. 

220. The landing of Columbus. 

By J. Garnelo, Rome, 1892. Original in Exposition of Fine Arts, 
Madrid. 

221. Arrival of Columbus in the New World. 

From De Bry's Voyages. 

222. View of Watling Island, the landfall of Columbus. 

All the places in America visited by Columbus can be absolutely iden- 
tified, except his first landfall, called by the natives Guanahani, and by 
him San Salvador. p:ach of half a dozen islands in the Bahama group 
has had its advocates, but the highest authorities favor Watling Island 
because it answers more closely to the description given by Columbus in 



52 THE RELICS OF COLUMBUS. 

liis journal. Watling's Island lies in latitude 24 degrees north. It is 
about thirteen miles long, from six to seven wide, and has an area of 
about sixty square miles, nearly half of which is covered by a series of 
lagoons, connected with each other by narrow passages. Watling 
Island is 175 miles from New Providence, the capital of the Bahamas, 
which can be reached by the New York and Cuba line of steamers, and 
about seventy-five miles from Fortune Island, where the Atlas line of 
steamers from New York touch; but it has no regular transportation 
facilities, and to reach it one must hire a sail boat at Nassau. 

223. Watling Island. The bay in which Columbus is believed to have 

landed. 

224. Conjectural landing-place of Columbus, Watling Island. 

Although there has been some dispute about the actual landing- 
place of Columbus, on Watling Island, owing to a confused rendering 
of his journal, yet the majority of writers have agreed that it was on the 
east coast, in or near the bay known as Green's Harbor, and in a cove at 
its southern extremity. There is a headland there, whence the bay 
stretches northwardly some three miles, and an excellent place for 
landing, after the coral reefs have been passed, under the lee of the 
cliffs. Stopping here a day, Columbus thence explored the coast in 
small boats, keeping behind the barrier reefs of coral that lie off the 
beach antl surround the island. 

225. Etching of Watling Island. 

By Henry R. Blaney, well-known artist of Boston, Massachusetts, 
from photographs taken by Frederick A. Obcr, Special Commissioner of 
the World's Columbian Exposition to tlio West Indies. 

View representing the beach upon which it is conjectured Columbus 
landed, looking seaward, the bluffs on which the Chicago Hera/d monvx- 
ment is built at the right, and scattered coral reefs in the water of the 
midille foreground. 

226. Point on Watling Island near where Columbus landed. 

From photograph by Walter Wellman. 

In the summer of 1891 the enterprising Chicago Herald sent an 
expedition to the Bahamas in search of the landfall and landing-place 
of Columbus. The chief of the expedition, Mr. Walter Wellman, 
accomplished the work satisfactorily and made an admirable report, 
which was published in the //<vv?/^/ at the time and attracted wide atten- 
tion. He decided upon the spot at which the great navigator landed, 
near the south end of Green's Harbor, and there erected a monument 
v.'ith a granite globe set within and with a suitable inscription. 



SCENES ASSOCIATED WITH THE FIRST VOYAGE. 



53 



227. Great lagoons, interior of Watling Island. 

An important point in favor of Watlincr as the landfall of Columbus, 
m comparison with other islands claiming it, is the fact that it has in its' 
center a great lagoon as a distinctive feature. Columbus particularly 
states "that the first island on which he landed had a large lagoon in its 
center, and this description will only apply to Watling's and to Crooked 
Island. 

228. Riding Rock Bay, Watling Island. 



230. 



231. 




liay near where Columbus landed. 

The only settlement "on Watling Island is that of Cockburn Town, at 
Riding Rock Bay, on the west side of the island.' Here is the port 
of entry, the house of the resident magistrate, a chapel, church, 
and a few score huts and houses. Riding Rock has a fine bay, but is 
exposed to storms at Irimes and is then unsafe. It is supposed that 
Columbus came around the island— around its northern point— and then 
along the west shore as far as this point, whence he took his departure 
for Rum Cay and Long Island. 

The landing of Columbus. 

From an old print. 

The landing of Columbus. 
By Rudolph Cronau. 



54 



THE RELICS OF COLUMBUS. 



232. Sketches of Watling Island. 

By Rudolph Cronau. 

A German author, Rudolph Cronau, made an exhaustive investigation 
into the antiquities and early history of America, visiting in person most 
of the scenes of the discovery and conquest, and published the result of 
his researches in 1892, in German, Spanishjand English, with engravings 
from his own drawings. 

233. Baptist Chapel, Watling Island. 

The Baptists are in the majority in Watling Island, and their chief 
place of worship is at Cockburn Town. Like nearly all the houses of 
the island, it is built with walls of stone, and covered with a roof of 
thatch composed of palm leaves 

234. Lighthouse at Watling Island. 

The Bahamas, for 
many years after their 
settlement, were the 
abode of pirates and 
wreckers, who system- 
atically pursued their 
nefarious business of 
wrecking vessels and 
sometimes murdering 
the crews for the plun- 
der they obtained. The 
establishing of light- 
houses by the English 
government was 
looked upon by them 
with deep resentment. Lighthouse at Watling Island, 

a feeling with which they still regard them. The lighthouse at Watling 
is first class, built upon a hill overlooking the site of the first landing- 
place of Columbus, and is equipped with everything necessary to an 
isolated station where stores are not easily obtained. 

235. Prominent citizens of Watling Island. 

From photograph by W^alter Wellman. 

The entire population of Watling, except the magistrate, the parson, 
the schoolmaster and the police force (consisting of one individual), is 
composed of laborers and fishermen. In the interior of the island they 
have their "farms," where they work hard to raise a scant crop of corn, 
pines, bananas, or vegetables. 

The present inhabitants of Watling support themselves by fishing, 




SCENES ASSOCIATED WITH THE FIRST VOYAGE. 



55 



236. 



237- 



238. 



conching, wrecking, turtling, and trying to cultivate the thin soil that 
covers the rock of which their barren island is composed. They earn a 
precarious eJJistence, and are frequently on the point of starvation, as in 
the summer of 1892, when all the crops failed on account of the drought. 
They are honest, good workmen, faithful, and demand only two shillings 
a day for their services. From the nature of things, their island being 
so poor and so far distant from a market, being visited only by infrequent 
vessels, they can never improve their condition. 
Types of the population of Watling Island. 




Types of ijopulation of Watling Island. 

Of the several hundred people composing the population of Watling 
Island, there are but two or three that are white. They are nearly all the 
descendants of the slaves freed by the English Act of Emancipation and 
who have succeeded to the estates of their former owners. These estates 
are now in ruins, the cleared fields long since overgrown with scrub, and 
ruin and desolation is visible everywhere. 
Natives of Watling Island. 

From photograph by Walter Wellman. 

The Island of San Salvador as described in the journal of Columbus. 

From an old print. 

In the course of their investigation to ascertain the resources of the 
islands visited, the Spaniards first discovered the potato, which was 
extensively cultivated by the natives and was their principal article of 
food. A considerable quantity was taken aboard the ships and intro- 
duced into Spain upon their return, but it was many years before its use 



56 



THE RELICS OF COLUMBUS. 




became general. They also discovered tobacco, of which Columbus 
writes in his journal: "The men always carried in their hands burning 
weeds for to inhale the smoke. These were dry weeds rolled up in a 
leaf, which was dry also, and lighting one end of it they suck the other 
and absorb or inhale the smoke. These fireworks, or whatever name we 
may give them, they call tobaccos." 

239. Present inhabitants of Watling Island. 

The chief building material 
of the Bahamas, abundant 
everywhere, is the soft coral 
limestone that is easily worked 
and sawed into building blocks. 
It makes the best of founda- 
tions and walls, giving strong 
and cool houses, and withstands 
the shocks of the hurricane as no Inhabitants of Watling Island. 

other could. The roofs are of thatch, made from the native palmetto or 
" head palm," and neatly laid on the rafters. There are few glass windows, 
the apertures being closed with wooden shutters, and the furnishings of 
the houses are simple in the extreme. 

240. Boatman of Watling Island. 

241. Magistrate's house at Watling Island. 

From photograph by Walter 
Wellman. 

Until quite recently, the only 
white family on the island was 
that of the resident magistrate, 
Hon. Maxwell Nairn> who has 
lived there for many years and 
is looked upon by the inhabi- 
tants of Watling Island as a 
father and friend. He has 
earned a reputation for upright- 
ness and hospitality that is 
universal throughout the Ba- Magistrate's house, 

hamas, and the news that he was stricken with paralysis in the summer 
of 1892 was received with general sorrow. After many years of faithful 
service, he is now retired on a pittance of a pension not adequate for his 
support. 

242. Map of the Bahama Islands, showing the conjectural track of Columbus. 

Made and presented by Rudolph Cronau. 




SCENES ASSOCIATED WITH THE FIRST VOYAGE. 



57 



243. Map of Watling Island. 

Made and presented by Rudolph Cronau. 

244. One of the cottages on Watling Island. 

248. Harbor of Jibarra, where Columbus first landed in Cuba. 

After the first landing in the Bahamas, at Watling Island, and after 
subsequently cruising along the shores of Long Island, Crooked and 
Fortune, Columbus took his departure from Fortune, which he called 
Isabella, and steered southwesterly toward an island the natives had 
told him of and called Cuba. On the 28th of October, 1492, he sighted 
some high mountains, and landed on a beautiful coast. These mount- 
ains are thought to have been those of Jibarra, on the north coast of Cuba 
and their peculiar formation is described by Columbus in his journal. 

249. Harbor of Baracoa, Cuba. Visited by Columbus on his first voyage. 

One of the most beautiful ports in the world, speaking of its natural 
attractions, is that of Baracoa, on the north coast (southeastern end) of 
Cuba. It was discovered and entered by Columbus in 1492, when on his 
voyage toward Hayti, and just before he had discovered that island, and 
he makes particular mention of a great table-topped mountain that was 
conspicuous from the sea, and whicb identifies the port with the one of 
his description. This mountain is known now, as then, as Yunque, and 
is a prominent landmark. 

250. Site of Guarico, Indian village of Gucanagari, who befriended Columbus. 

(Here the wreckage of the car- 
avel "Santa Maria" was brought 
ashore. The anchor of Colum- 
bus was found a mile distant 
from this spot.) From photo- 
graph by F. A. Ober. 

Continuing his voyage from 
the coast of Cuba, Columbus 
■ sighted a lofty island which the 
natives called Bohio, and where 
he was told that much gold 
would be found. He first landed 
at Mole San Nicholas, and Where the "Santa Maria" was lost, 

thence sailed leisurely along the coast toward the present Cape Haytien, 
where he had the misfortune to lose his flagship, the "Santa Maria," upon 
a reef, and she became a total wreck. In his distress he received assist- 
ance from the Indian chieftain (Cacique) Guacanagari, whose town of 
Guarico was only four or five miles distant. The settlement has ever 




58 



THE RELICS OF COLUMBUS. 



since preserved the name of Guarico, and is identified with the present 
bourg of Petit Anse, not more than three miles from Cape Haytien. 



251- 




Present ai>i>o;inuico of site of Guarico. 

The wreck of the "Santa Maria" occurred on Christmas Eve, 1492, 
and from that circumstance Columbus called the first fort he erected 
here Navidad, or the Nativity. It was built mainly out of the wreckage 
of the flagship and was said to be a tower, surrounded with a ditch. 
Having then Init two vessels, and not room enough for all, Columbus 
left some forty men at Navidad, and then, after provisioning and arming 
the fort, sailed ior Spain. 

'Hie site of the fort is a hill, isolated by surrounding saihus, or salt 
flats, and commanding the channels by which the vessels of Columbus 
approached the shore. The fort was destroyed and the garrison massa- 
cred by Indians in 14i)8, and Columbus, on his return on the second voy- 
age, ftunul not one of his men alive. 
Samana Bay, Santo Domingo. 

This, one of the beautiful Ixiys of the world, is on the north coast of 
Santo Domingo, and was discovered by Columbus in January, 1498. It 
has long been celebrated as an objective point for a coaling-station 
and for settlement, having deep water, fine scenery, healthful situation, 
and advantageous position as relates to the other islands of the West 
Indies and their conniierce. Ilie town here is Santa Barbara, on the 
shores of a deep bay. 



SCENES ASSOCIATED WITH THE FIRST VOYAGE. 59 

252. Flats back of Petit Anse, Hayti. 



253- 

254- 

255. 
256. 




''lalsat I'clil An^c, U(^•ll■ Navidad. 

Coast of Hayti, near Navidad. 
Columbus trading. 

From De Bry's Voyau^t'S. 
Present inhabitants of Petit Anse. 
The anchor of Columbus. (In the chapel.) 

There is evidence considered conclusive that this anchor 
was one of those of the flagship, the " Santa Maria," which 
was wrecked on the coast of Hayti on the first voyage, 
Christmas Eve, 1492, It was presented by Dr. Alejandro 
Llenas of Puerto Plata, Santo Domingo. Dr. Llenas was at 
one time a resident at Cape Haytien, and while there de- 
voted himself to a study of the voyages of Columbus, with a 
view to identifying positively the localities of the different 
landfalls, landings, residences of the caciques, and first set- 
tlements. Columbus, in his inventory of articles left at the 
fortress erected here, mentions an "anchor of the caravel." 
In the course of time it. was carried some distance inlanil, 
where it was found by the Columbian commissioner, on an 
old plantation. The concurrent evidence of history and local 
tradition point to this anchor as genuine, as well as its shape 
(being of the fifteenth century type), the evidence of Columbus himself 
and the locality in which it was found. Historians in different centuries 
have mentioned it, and a learned French antiquarian has proved it to be 
of the type used by Columbus, Mr, Curtis obtained his first knowledge of 




6o 



THE RELICS OF COLUMBUS. 



the anchor from a letter written by a Dr. Henneker to Washington Irving 
in 1832, and published as a note in the latter's life of Columbus. 

258. Beach at Las Flechas, Scene of the first encounter between the 

Indians and the crew of Columbus on his first voyage. 

The first blood shed in the New World in an encounter between the 
Indians and the Europeans was after the entrance by Columbus into the 
Bay of Samana, where some 
fierce Caribs were met. The 
scene of this encounter is at 
a small bay known to-day 
as Las Flechas, because of 
the number of arrow-heads 
picked up after the fight. 

259. Bay of Samana, Santo Do- 

mingo. 

Rounding the great cliffs 
of Balandra Head, Colum- 
bus discovered before him a 
magnificent bay or gulf, its 
farther shores hidden in mist, 
and the near hills clothed in 
luxuriant tropical vegetation. 
This was in January, 1493, at 
the end of his first voyage, 
and from this bay he practi- 
cally took his departure for 
Spain. 

Throughout the first voy- 
age to the New World on 
the outward passage the 
weather was propitious, but 
on the return a series of 
gales was encountered, which 
had they opposed the out- 
ward cruise, would have 
effectually prevented the 
great discovery. About the 
middle of February the two 
shattered caravels were ex- 
posed to a fearful storm that 
nearly wrecked them. 




Our Lady of the Angels. 



SCENES ASSOCIATED WITH THE FIRST VOYAGE, 



'6i 



260. Views of St. Mary, of the Azores Islands. 

Columbus lauded at St. Mary, one of the Azores Islands, on February 
18, 1498, to fulfill a vow made during a gale. Half the crew went ashore 
and left offerings for "Our Lady of the Angels." They were received 
with great hostility by the governor of the island, who also attempted to 
gain possession of Columbus, detaining the sailors two days, but finally 
releasing them, when Columbus continued his voyage. The governor 
claimed that he acted by orders of the King of Portugal, who wished to 
obtain the information in possession of the Spaniards. Leaving St. 
Mary, • they 
had pleasant 
weather un- 
til near the 
coast of Port- 
ugal, where a 
storm over- 
took them 
that lasted 
several days, 
and the 4th 
of March 
they were off 
the mouth of 

the Tagus, View of St. Mary, of the Azores, 

entering which they found shelter. 

261. Views of St. Mary, of the Azores Islands. 

262. Views of St. Mary, of the Azores Islands. 

263. View of the city of Lisbon, Portugal, showing where Columbus landed 

on his return from the New World. 

When Columbus reached Lisbon, on his way to Palos, he was very 
badly treated, and according to some reports, narrowly esca])ed assassi- 
nation. His first act was to send a trusty messenger to Spain to convey 
the news of his arrival to his sovereigns and to bear two letters describ- 
ing the voyage, which he had written to Luis Santangel, the receiver of 
the ecclesiastical revenues, who had advanced the funds, and to Rafael 
Sanchez, the royal treasurer, who had also been his steadfast friend. He 
also sent a letter to the King of Portugal, then sojourning nine leagues 
away from the capital, asking the hospitality of the port, for the reason 
that his vessel was unseaworthy and he needed supplies. On the third 
day he received an invitation to visit the Court, which was accepted with 
reluctance. He was kindly received, however, treated with honor, and 
permitted to depart in peace. 




62' THE RELICS OF COLUMBUS. 

264. Cathedral at Lisbon, where Columbus received benediction upon his 

return from his first voyage. 

265. Castle of Belem, where Columbus landed in Lisbon on his return from 

his first voyage. 

266. Presentation of Columbus to Ferdinand and Isabella on his return from 

the first voyage. 

By A. Deveria. 

It is not difficult to imagine the excitement of the people when on the 
16th of March, after seven months' absence, the leaking "Nina" crossed 
the bar of Palos. The exultation of the sailors, the wonderful tales they 
told, and the sensation created by the Indians and other strange evi- 
dences of a New World, have been described by eloquent pens, and the 
procession \yhich followed Columbus to the chapel has been pictured in 
glowing words and brilliant colors. 

The Court was at Barcelona when Columbus returned, and he for- 
warded a dignified announcement of his arrival to his royal patrons. 
Then he proceeded to Seville to await the commands of their majesties. 
It came in these words : 

Letter of the King and Qaeen to Columbus upon his return from the discovery. 

The Kins and Queen to Dont'hristopher Columbus, our Admiral of the Ocean, and 
Viceroy and Governor of the Islands discovered in the Indies : We have seen your let- 
ters and received much pleasure from their contents. We are rejoiced that God has 
granted so fortunate an isfeue to your enterprise, which will redound much to His 
service and to the profit of ourselves and our dominions. For these great services we 
hope to reward you in a manner suitable to your merits ; and as it is our wish that the 
undertaking that has been begun by you be, with the help of God, carried on and 
accomplished ; and as we desire to see yoa immediately, we request therefore that you 
will use all possible speed in hastening to us, that all necessary preparations may be 
made witliont delay. And as tlie season is early and favorable for your return to the 
countries you have discovered, we wisli you would ascertain whether measures cannot 
be taken at Seville or other places, necessary to that end. We recjuest you to write by 
the courier who brings you this, and who returns immediately, that the whole may be 
arranged by the time you return thither to us. 

Baucelona, March 30, 1493. 

I, THE KING. 

I, THE QUEEN. 
By order of the King and Queen, 

FERNAND ALVAREZ. 

267. Reception of Columbus by the Spanish sovereigns. 

By R. Balaca. 

268. Columbus presenting his trophies to the King and Queen of Spain, at 

Barcelona, on his return from his first voyage. 

Las Casas, the monk who was subsequently known as " The Apostle of 
the Indies," and whose father accompanied Columbus on the voyages, 
witnessed the reception of Columbus at Barcelona and described it in 



SCENES ASSOCIATED WITH THE FIRST VOYAGE. 



63 



his " Historie." He tells us that when Columbus entered the apartment 
surrounded by his brilliant escort, both monarchs arose to greet him. 
When he knelt to kiss their hands, they gloriously assisted him to rise 
and gave him a seat before them while he related his adventures. As he 
proceeded with his narration he handed his sovereigns the barbaric orna- 
ments of the people he had discovered, and called to the throne the 
Indians, who were crouching behind him dismayed at the splendor of 
the scene. At the close of the interview the choir in the adjoining 
chapel chanted a Te Deum, and the admiral was conducted to a suite of 
royal apartments, where he found his son Diego, who, during his long 
absence, had been serving as a page at Court. 
269, Views of Barcelona. 
The city of Barce- 
lona, where Columbus 
met with a brilliant re- 
ception by Ferdinand 
and Isabella, Oil his re- 
turn from his first voy- 
age, is a seaport on the 
M e d i t e rranean, and 
had long been the in- 
dustrial and commer- 
cial center of eastern 
Spain. Its pre-emi- 
nence in this respect 
dates from the twelfth 
and thirteenth cen- 
turies. It was the rival 
of Venice and Genoa 
in Columbus' day, and 
in renown its hardy 
mariners were second 
to none. The discov- 
eries of Columbus add- 
ed greatly to the com- 
merce of Barce- 
lona, as they did to 
that of Se V i 1 1 e , and 
great prosperity ruled 
at both points until the 
American colonies Ancient Cathedral, Barcelona. 

began to fall under the sway of France and England, when a decline in 




64 



THE RELICS OF COLUMBUS. 



270. 



271. 



272. 



this prosperity set in. Barcelona, however, has declijned the least of all, 
and now its population numbers two hundred and lifty-two thousand 
persons. 

The city of Barcelona has been so much changed during the last two 
c e n t u r ies that 
there are very 
few remains of 
buildings iden- 
tified with Co- 
lumbus, a 1 - 
though the pal- 
ace in which he 
was received by 
the King and 
Queen, the ca- 
thedral in which 
the Te Deum 
was sung in his 
honor, and the 
tower in which 
he is said to 
have lodged,can 
still be identi- 
fied. The streets 
through which 
he passed at the 
head of t r i- 
umphal proces- 
sion have, how- 
ever, been en- Towers where Columbus lodged, Barcelona, 
tirely renewed and modernized. 
Columbus exhibiting the trophies of his first voyage at Court. 

Photographic copy of a Beauvais tapestry hanging in the drawing- 
room of the residence of Mrs. John W. Mackay, Carleton Terrace, Lon- 
don, England. 

Reception of Columbus. 

Original in Circle of Fine Arts, Madrid, Spain. 

Reception of Columbus after his return from his first voyage. 

Original by Robert Fleury. 

In obedience to the command of the sovereigns, Columbus hastened to 
Barcelona with a portion of his associates and six of the natives he had 
brought with him. Three of the Indians were too ill to make the jour- 




SCENES ASSOCIATED WITH THE FIRST VOYAGE. 65 

ney, and one had died at sea immediately after baptism. A pious 
writer of the time quaintly suggests that he was the rtrst of his race to 
enter heaven. About the middle of April Columbus entered the city, 
escorted by a brilliant cavalcade that had gone out to meet him. His 
Indians, arrayed in their native costume, led the procession. Following 
them were the sailors bearing the other trophies of the voyage, includ- 
ing forty parrots and other birds of gorgeous plumage, the skins of 
animals hitherto unknown, and the articles of gold and other ornaments 
he had secured by barter. Then, on horseback, surrounded by the 
chivalry of Spain, rode the great admiral, receiving with dignified sim- 
plicity the ovations of the people. The Alcazar of the Moorish kings 
in the Calle (street) Ancha was the temporary residence of Ferdinand 
and Isabella, who received him seated upon thrones under a canopy of 
brocaded gold. 

273. Episode of the egg, by Hogarth. 

At a banquet given in honor of Columbus by Cardinal Mendoza, a 
shallow courtier attempted to depreciate his achievements by saying 
that any one might have made the discovery. Columbus, taking an egg 
in his hand, asked the courtier if he could make it stand on end. A 
sneer was the only reply. The admiral struck the end on the table and 
then stood it up. " Any one can do that," remarked the courtier. " Very 
true," Columbus is reported to have replied, " when he has been shown 
the way." 

274a. Altar of Carthusian Convent at Burgos, Spain. 

This altar is said by some historians to have been gilded with the first 
gold brought by Columbus from the New World. This convent, called the 
Cartuja, stands outside the city limits, in a beautiful situation, and is 
in a good state of preservation. 

274b. Cane of native wood tipped with horn, cut near the site of La Navidad, 
Hayti, where a fortress was erected by Columbus in 1492. 

Loaned by William E. Curtis, Wasliington, I). C. 

275. Columbus presenting an account of the discovery to the King and 
Queen. 

By Jover. 

Duringthefollowing weeks Columbus had frequent interviews with the 

King and Queen, and related again and again the incidents of the voyage. 

No monarch was ever received or treated with greater honors or more 

assiduous attention, not only by the sovereigns, but by all connected with 

the Court. Throngs followed him in the street to do him honor, and the 

obsequious courtiers kissed his hands. Contemporary writers relate that 
5 



66 



THE RELICS OF COLUMBUS. 



he rode frequently through the streets of Barcelona beside the King, and 
often appeared in public in company with Queen Isabella. 




Keception of Columbus by Queen Isabella, 
The first news of the discoveries of Columbus reached Italy in a letter 
written from Barcelona in May, 1493, by Peter Martyr, the friend of 
Columbus and the famous author, to Cardinal Ascanio Sforza and to 
Joseph Borremeo. In the last named letter Peter Martyr says: 

A few days after, a certain Christopher Columbus, a Ligurian, returned from the 
antipodes. He had obtained for that purpose three ships from my sovereigns with 
much difficulty, because the ideas which he expressed were considered extravagant. He 
came back and brought specimens of money and precious things, especially ^old, 
which these regions naturally produce. 

276. Wonders of the New World, as seen by Columbus. 

From an old engraving in Philopono's Voyage to the New World of 
the Western Indies. 

The sailors who accompanied Columbus told strange stories of their 
adventures when they returned to their friends in Spain. Father Philo- 
pono, a pious priest, added an equally interesting and absurd volunie to 
the literature of the day, basing his book upon the narratives of the 
priests and monks who accompanied Columbus and other voyagers.* 

♦Honorio Philopono was a monk of the Order of St. Benedict. He edited a book with 
the following title: " Voyage to the New World of the Western Indies, given now to 



SCENES ASSOCIATED WITH THE FIRST VOYAGE. 6/ 

1- 




277. Indians on the back of a whale. 

From Philopono's \'oyage to the New World of the Western Indies. 

The sailors reported that they had seen in the waters of the New 
World fishes so large that a caravel could be floated on their backs, 
and an altar could be erected and mass said upon them. The story was 
re-told with variations, and finally the veracious priest Philopono 
related the tale as an actual fact and gave illustrations of how the cara- 
vels had been carried about by whales and mass celebrated upon their 
backs. " They that go down to the sea in ships," exclaimed the pious 
Philopono, quoting Psalm cvii, "that do business in great waters, these 
see the works of the Lord, and His wonders in the deep." 

278. Coco Macaque stick cut near the site of La Navidad, Hayti, where a 

fortress was erected by Columbus in 1492. 
Loaned by William E. Curtis, Washington, D. C. 

279. Cane of Coco Macaque tipped with iron, cut near the place where the 

" Santa Maria," the flagship of Columbus, went to wreck Christmas 
Eve, 1492. 

Native workmanship. Loaned by William E. Curtis, Washington, 
D. C. 

the press, made by the Most Reverend Father Dom Buell, of Catalonia, Abbott of Monser- 
rate, and Apostolic Legate a latere of the Holy See for the whole America, or New 
World, and Patriarch of the same, and his associates or brethren of the same Order of 
St. Benedict, sent by His Holiness, the Pope Alexander VI, in 1492, to preach tlie Gospel 
of Christ to the barbarous people of those regions, written upon notes and state- 
ments of several others, and illustrated with engravings." See original No. 620. 



68 



THE RELICS OF COLUMBUS. 




First mass in America. 



281. Old saber or machete. 

282. Aboriginal seat from Caicos Islands, Bahamas. 

Loaned by United States National Museum, Washington, D. C. 

Seats of this character were used by the Indians at the time Cokmibus 
first landed in the Bahamas, and an account is given of their use in Cuba, 
when he landed there: " The prime men came out to meet them, and 
caused them to sit down on seats 
made of a solid piece of wood 
in the shape of a beast with very 
short legs and the tail held up, 
the head before, with eyes and 
ears of gold." Stone stools of 
similar shape have been found 
also in the Bahamas, in Puerto 
Rico, and Santo Domingo. 

283. The first mass said in America, 

from Philopono. 

284. Caravels of the fifteenth century. 

From the Americiie Retection, by Brueghal. 

285. Terrible monster seen by Columbus. 

From Ogilby's History of America. 

286. Fleet of Columbus at Lisbon on his homeward voyage. 

From I)e Bry's Voyages. 

287. A strange monster of the New World. 

From De Bry's Voyages. 

288. Picture of the fleet of Columbus. 

From the Americae Retection, by Brueghal. 

289. Shells picked up on the beach w^hen Columbus landed at Watling. 

290. Aboriginal skull from Watling Island. 

Skull of a Lucayan or native of the Bahamas. Foiiiul in a cave. 

291. Indian "Celts" or "Thunderbolts." 

Relics of the aborigines of the Bahamas. Ten specimens showing 
various designs. 

292. Iron balls from near Navidad. 

The site of the fort erected by Columbus, which was destroyed by the 
Indians and the garrison massacred. 

293. Indian games, as described by Columbus. 

From Oviedo's History of the Indies. 

294. Seal of the Board of Lady Managers for the State of New York, 

World's Columbian Exposition. 

Representing the Indian woman holding the torch that Columbus saw 
on the night before the discovery. 



SCENES ASSOCIATED WITH THE SECOND VOYAGE, 6g 



SECTION F. SCENES ASSOCIATED WITH THE SECOND VOY- 
AGE OF COLUMBUS. 



300. Fleet of Columbus starting on his second voyage from Cadiz. 

From Philopono. 

It was on the 25th of September, 1493, at dawn, that Columbus left the 
port of Cadiz for the second venture across the ocean to the New World. 
There were three large ships, called carracks, which were a species of 
merchant vessel, used in the coasting trade, of about one hundred tons bur- 
then, and fourteen caravels. This large fleet successfully crossed the 
Atlantic and made the first land at the Island of Guadeloupe, one of the 
Carribee chain in the southern West Indies. 

301. Bay near Capesterre, Guadeloupe, where Columbus watered his ships 

on the second voyage. 

The first island discovered by Columbus on his second voyage, in 1493, 
was that of Dominico, but he did not land there, merely noting and 
naming it as his ships swept by, and keeping on to another mountainous 
island, which he called Guadeloupe. In a sheltered bay, known to-day 
as his landing place, he anchored his vessels, and while the crews were 
refreshing themselves and cleansing their clothes, etc., he sent several 
expeditions into the wild forests to explore, one party being lost and in 
danger from the cannibal Caribs, who were here, for the first time, seen 
and encountered. 

302. The second arrival of Columbus in the new world. 

From De Bry's Voyages. 

303. Columbus at the ruins of Navidad. 

By H. F. Pluddemann. Loaned by Mrs. Pluddemann, Breslau, 
Germany. 

304. Bluff above the beach on which Columbus landed at Isabella. 

After reaching the coast of Hayti, in 1493, tinding the fort he had 
erected at Navidad destroyed and the garrison massacred, Columbus 
retraced his tracks to a point easterly from Navidad and Monte Cristi, 
and entered a small but sheltered harbor at a place nearer to the gold 
mountains of the interior. Here he disembarked his weary men and 
munitions and provisions, and began the foundations of a settlement, 
which he named Isabella, after his royal patroness. 



70 



THE RELICS OF COLUMBUS. 



305. Present appearance of the ruins of Isabella, Santo Domingo, fir^t 
civilized settlement in the New World. 




307- 



Present appearance of the site of Isabella. 

He erected a church, a public storehouse, known as "The King's 
House," and a residence for himself, known as the "Governor's Pal- 
lace." These were built of stone. Many priv^ate houses were con- 
structed of wood, plaster, reeds, and such other materials as were found 
on the ground. The city, however, was abandoned after the discovery 
of gold in the mountains, and fell into ruins. Mr. F. A. Ober, the 
Commissioner of the Columbian Exposition to the West Indies, made a 
thorough investigation of the ruins and brought back all of the stone 
that was left on the grounds. 
Stone from church at ancient Isabella. 

Obtained from the ruins of the church at Isabella (now entirely 
obliterated) by G. J. Gibbs, of Turk's Island, some fifty years ago. Loaned 
by his son. Should be compared with other similar stones brought from 
Isabella by Mr. Ober. The condition of the ruins and the old church at 
time this stone was taken are given in a paper read by Mr. Gibbs, 
before the New York Historical Society, October 6, 1864, and in the 
Royal Std/ulani of Turk's Island, '25th July, 1891. . ^ 



SCfiNES ASSOCIATED WITH THE SECOND VOYAGE. 



71 



306. Present appearance of the site of the " King's House" at Isabella. 

From a photograph by F. A. Ober. 



308. 



311- 
312. 

313- 



314. 




Present appearance of the site of the " Kind's House." 

The ruins ot what is thought to have been the " King's House " were 
found on the bluff overlooking the river, and a little distance away were 
other ruins that may have been of the church. 
Tiles from church at old Isabella. 

The church was dedicated January 6, 1494, when high mass was 
celebrated by Friar Boyl and twelve ecclesiastics. 
Pottery shards from ancient Isabella. 
Chart of Isabella. 

Drawn by Lieut. Colvocoresses, of the U. S. S. " Enterprises." 
Etching of Isabella. 

Etching by Henry R. Blaney, of Boston, Massachusetts, after photo- 
graphs obtained by Frederick" A. Ober, the Columbian Commissioner to the 
West Indies, under the Latin-American department of the Exposition. 
A pile of stones that represents all that remains of the first city in the 

New World. 

In 1891, the Columbian Commissioner to the West Indies, Mr. F. A. 
Ober, spent a week at the site of Isabella. All the cut stone that re- 
mained was brought away and shipped to Chicago, and was taken from 
the last renuiants of the old Church, the Mint and the King's House. 



72 



THE RELICS OF COLUMBUS. 



309. Isabella Bay. View from the cliff on which the " King's House" was 
built in Isabella. 




View ot Isabella Bay. (From a photograph by F. A. t>liii.) 

The site of Isabella is now completely overgrown with wikl vegetation, 
chiefly the different forms of cacti, there indigenous, which renders explor- 
ation somewhat difficult. But the cactus forms are beautiful, and the 
glimpses through the openings in the clumps are attractive, of the Bajo- 
Bonico river, the bay, and the mountains beyontl. 
310. Ruins of Isabella, S" n- 

to Domingo. 

Plu>tographcd • b »' 
Ober. 

The ruins of what is 
known as the " Royal 
Mint," at Isabella, are 
just above the bay on 
the bluff, and there 
are numerous • frag- 
m e n t s of pottery 
shards here, supposed 
to be of the crucibles 
in which the gold from 
the C ibao was smelted, Sit« of the Royal Mint. 




SCENES ASSOCIATED WITH THE SECOND VOYAGE. 



73 



315. 



as well as of the roofing tiles of the buildings. Much of the structure 
has tumbled into the sea, but the greater portion, doubtless, has been 
carried away to Puerto Plata for building purposes, in recent years, 

Bajo-Bonico, or Isabella river, Santo Domingo. 




The bank of liajo-Bonico (Isabella) river. 

The harbor of Isabella is small, and protected from the ocean by a 
line of coral reefs, the water being shallow, but of sufficient depth for 
the vessels of Columbus. A river flows into it called the Bajo-Bonieo, 
which is a stream of some volume in the rainy season, but runs nearly 
dry in the summer. It rises in the mountains of the interior, and large 
quantities of mahogany logs are floated down its current from the hills. 
It now enters the bay at a little distance from the site of Isabella, but is 
thought to have flowed at the foot of the bluff in the time of Columbus. 
316. View of the Cibao mountains, Santo Domingo, with the Puerta deles 

Caballeros (1494), the gateway to the gold region. 

One of the reasons, doubtless, that influenced Columbus in selecting 
the site he did for Isabella, was its proximity to the gold region of the 
Cibao. And the first expedition after the town was well under way, was 
through themountains visible from the River Bajo-Bonico to that distant 
gold region. This expedition was one of the romantic episodes of that 
time, and the road the officers of the army opened through the mountain 
pass is known to this day as the Piicrfa dc los Cabalhros, "the pass of 
the gentlemen," and is seen in the distance from Isabella. 



74 



THE RELICS OF COLUMBUS. 



r 



317. Handcuffs from Vega Vieja, Santo Domingo. 

These ancient liandcuffs, localW called "rs^osas," are from the ruins 
of the old city founded by orders of Columbus in the Royal Vega, 
1495. Tradition states that they are the identical handcuffs used to 
manacle the famous Carib chieftain, Caonabo, the bravest of the Indians 
of Santo Domingo, and the only one who had courage enough to oppose 
the Spaniards. He became so troublesome that Columbus sent his best 
captain, Alonzo de Ojeda, to effect his capture. Ojeda found Caonabo 
in the midst of his wild followers in the mountains, and showing the 
chief the manacles, which were then bright and shining, told him that 
they were valu.able bracelets sent by the King of Spain as a present. 
Caonabo consented to receive them, when Ojeda slipped them upon his 
wrists, quickly mounted with him upon his horse, and hurried through the 
forests to Isabella, where the Indian chief was presented to Columbus. 
He was later sent to Spain, but died on the voyage. 

318. The first church bell that rang in the New World. 

To the church at Isabella King „, 

Kerdinand presented a small bronze ' I 

bell of excellent workmanship, 
eight inches in height, and six ami 
a half inches in diameter. It bears 
upon the surface the image of .St. 
Michael, to whom the church was 
dedicated, and the letter "F" in 
old Gothic, in remembrance of the 
donor. In 1494, after the discov- 
ery of gold in the mountains of 
Cibao, everything transportable 
was removeil frimi the old to the 
new town, including the bell, which 
was hung in the tower of the chapel 
at La ^'ega, and remained there 
until the place was destroyed by 
an earthquake in 1564, and the 
survivors built a third town near The Isjibella belL 

by. More than three hundred years after a shepherd, who was poking 
around among the ruins, found in a mass of vines that covered the old 
church this same bell, which had thus been preserved under the masses 
of masonry and earth that hail been overturned by the convulsion. 
The bell was taken to Santo Domingo, and has since been kept as a 
venerated relic in a church there. Through the kindness of Senor Don 



J- 



t 



J 



SCENES ASSOCIATED WITH THE SECOND VOYAGE. 75 

Manual J. Galvan, the Dominican Minister to the United States, it was 
secured for the historical collection at the Exposition. It is called the 
"Bell of the Fig Tree," and considered one of the most precious relics of 
the early times of Santo Domingo, as it was the first bell ever rung in 
the New World. 

When Senor Galvan was in Washington in 1891, he was requested by 
Mr. William E. Curtis, in charge of the Latin-American department of 
the Exposition, to use his efforts in obtaining the loan of this historic 
bell. This he did, as the following extract from his letter to Senor 
Bellini will show: 

Let us pass to matters of patriotic interest: Mr. William E. Curtis, charged with 
the direction of the Latin-American department of the Exposition at ('liicago, learn- 
ing through me of tlie "Bell of the Fig Tree," which was recovered from the bell 
tower of the (Church of Conception de la Vega, where it was brought to sight by the 
action of the fig tree, which raised it in its brandies, desires to secure it for exhibition 
as a relic of the early years of Santo Domingo. You are aware that the said bell was 
presented to me by the discoverer (now deceased) , and that I gave it to your uncle, 
Fatlier Bellini (whom God has now with him). All these particulars are to be found 
in the papers of the time— see La "Cronica," Santo Domingo, 15tli October, 1886. Mr. 
Curtis, interested in our republic, desires that it occupy the distinguislied place in the 
Exposition whicli properly belongs to it by reason of its historic importance, and has 
applied to me to assist liim in securing the bell in question as a loan. I participate in 
his desire, and transmit it to you. Mr. Ober, the special commissioner of the Exposi- 
■ tion for the Antilles, will place this letter in your hands, and 1 recommend liim warmly 
to your attentions, doubting not that you will confide to his care the bell referred to, 
witli a receipt, and promise to return it — as you can do, with all confidence, in view 
of tlie official and personal cliaracter ot Messrs. Curtis and Ober, wliu will pledge 
themselves to return this, so precious a relic. 

Believe me, sincerely your very faithful friend and servant, 

M.DE J. GALVAN. 

Armed witli this letter, which was in itself a voucher for the authen- 
ticity of the bell, the commissioner was [ilaced in possession of the 
relic by Senor Bellini, and after giving the necessary assurances for its 
safety, sent it to the United States. 

319. Old spurs from Santo Domingo. 

Old spurs, sometimes still used in the island, but not of the most 
ancient type. From the city of Santiago de los Caballeros, interior of 
Santo Domingo. 

320. Ancient Hawksbells, from Santo Domingo. 

" Hawksbell," Campanita " Cascabell ;" by these names were known 
the small bells brought over by Columbus and the early .Spaniards, for 
traffic with the natives. This was found in the ruins of a house in Vega 
Vieja, destroyed by the earthquake of 1564. It is regarded as a most 
important " find, " because of its association with the conquistadores in 
their intercourse with the Indians — one of the original "hawksbells, " 



76 THE RELICS OF COLUMBUS. 

brought here by the first Spaniards to barter for gold, and which they 
were so desirous to obtain that they would exchange for them 
everything they possessed. The Indians valued them for the music 
they made, when fastened to their wrists or ankles, having previously 
had nothing but shells, bones and stones. When Columbus first began 
the enslavement of the Indians, he made each one bring in, as his share 
of tribute, a hawksbell full of gold dust every month. 
321. Fragment of chain armor from Isabella. 

Fragment of chain armor found in the old city of Isabella by a com- 
mission from Puerta Plata and loaned by General Segundo Imbert. 
322-323. Two old bells, Santo Domingo. 

One of these bells was recovered from the ruins of Jacagua, and once 
hung in the bell-tower of the church. It was evidently cast in the island, 
being of rude workmanship and rough. As the church was destroyed in 
IWl-l, and the ruins have not been occupied since, the bell must have 
been cast before that date, and hence is one of the oldest in America — 
probably the most ancient work of native artisans (of the kind) to be 
found. 

The bronze bell was found in an old church near La \'ega and is quite 
ancient. Presented by Mr. 11. R. A. Griesa, Sanchez, Santo Domingo. 

324. Articles from Jacagua, Santo Domingo. 

Presented by Scnor Don Ricardo Ovies. 

Jacagua, or Old Santiago, was founded by Columbus in 1494, and 
called Magdalena, but was destroyed by an earthquake in 1564. The 
town had a church and {>ul)lic buildings and was, at the time of its 
destruction, a thriving settlement. The church has recently been exca- 
vated at the expense of the Latin-American department of the Ex- 
position, and many minor articles of antiquity discovered of the times in 
which it was built. The ruins are about four miles distant from the city 
of .Santiago, the present chief city of the province of the same name, to 
which the inhabitants of Jacagua removed after the loss of their houses. 
TheiHoprietor, Senor Don Ricardo Ovies, is intelligent and hospitable, 
speaks English fluently, and aiiled the commissioner of the Exposition 
in his excavations, furnishing laborers antl guidance and placing the entire 
property at his disposal. Through him many interesting relics were re- 
covered which throw light upon the early history of the country. 

325. Fragments of horse-shoes used by the caballeros of the time of Colum- 

bus. Mostly found at Vega Vieja, Santo Tomas and Jacagua. 
The horses of modern times in these islands are not shod. The Cibao 
country, of Santo Domingo, of which La \'ega and Santiago are the chief 
towns, and from which most oi the antiquities recovered in the island 



SCENES ASSOCIATED WITH THE SECOND VOYAGE. 'J'] 

haive been obtained, is the interior and is best reached from the port of 
Sanchez, at the head of the Bay of Samana. Thence a railroad runs as 
far as La \'ega, a distance of sixty-four miles, when it is some twenty 
miles farther to Santiago. 
326. Santiago, Santo Domingo, near where the first gold was found by 

Columbus. 

The first gold found by the Spaniards in America came from the river 
Yaqui, north coast of Santo Domingo, which was called by Columbus the 
Rio del Oro, or River of Gold, from the richness of its sands. It is said 
that golden particles adhered to the hoops of the water-casks, when the 
sailors took water at the mouth of the river. The richest deposits of 
gold, or rather the largest nuggets, were found in tributaries of the 
Yaqui, such as the Yanico, on the bank of which the fort, for the defense 
of the gold region, called Santo Tomas, was built, and garrisoned by fifty 
men. 
327a. Ancient articles from Santo Tomas, Santo Domingo. 

Santo Tomas was the first fort erected in the interior of Santo 
Domingo, and guarded the gold region of the famous Cibao. The sitv. 
of the fortress was traced by the Columbian commissioner, 1892, and 
photographed. At the base of the hill, on which the fortress was built, 
runs a stream, the sands and gravel of which contained gold at the time 
the Spaniards came, and even to-day some gold is obtained by the peo- 
ple living there. 
327b. An old Indian jug, an " arzon," or saddle-peak, and a portion of a 

"coa" or hoe. 

Found at Santo Tomas de Janico, mountains of Santo Domingo. It is 
from four to six hours' ride into the mountain from Santiago. It was 
visited by the Columbian commissioner, who found traces of the ancient 
fortress, and gold from the river above which it was built. There is a 
little hamlet near, in charge of a hospitable priest. 
329. Ancient cannon called a "lombard," from the old fort, Concepcion de la 

V^ga. 

The fortress itself is the only structure of ancient Concepcion suffi- 
ciently preserved to mdicate its original outline. It was intended to 
keep in subjection the Indians of Santo Domingo. This lombard came 
from the fort, and has been used for many years in the firing of salutes 
in honor of the virgin of Santo Cerro. Obtained for the Exposition 
through tlie good offices of Padre R. Vallejo. 
328. Old fortress of Concepcion de la Vega. 

Erected by the companions of Columbus, 1494. Destroyed by an 
earthquake, 1564. 



7^ 



THE KEl.ICS OF COLUMBUS. 




Rains of tho fortrosa Concepcion d(> la Voga. 

This old fort is the \ oritablo "Concopciou de la Vega," buih by orders 
of Columbus in 1404, shortly before, or soon after tlie first great 
victory over the Indians of the Royal Vega. It lies some six miles from 
the jiresent town of La \'ega,and there yet remains enough to show the 
original plan, though it is entirely in ruins except the northeast angle, 
where the circular bastion is nearly perfect. Here the walls are about 
ten feet high, six feet thick, with a space inside of sixteen feet. The old 
fort was probably about two hundred feet square, built of brick, and with 
circular bastions at the four corners. 
330. Ancient spur, "acicate," Santo Domingo. 

The oldest ami most primiti\"e tNpe of spur found in Spanish America. 
Loaned by Cicneral Segundo Imbert, Tuerto Plata, Santo Domingo. 

333. Old Spanish spur, Santo Domingo. 

'I'his spur, with its prong over three inches in length, is a most inter- 
esting relic of the coitqiiistac/oris. It is such as the crusaders wore, and 
sueh as the knights of the tourney used, when, to show their devotion to 
their lady-loves, they killeil their horses at their feet. It is a tradition 
that these sjnus, with their long straight prongs, were used for similar 
purposes, and when a Spaniard became enamored of an Indian maiden, 
which was quite frequently, he bestrode his favorite horse buckled on a 
pair of these spurs, or "aiiiaUs" and galloped to the hut of his inam- 



SCENES ASSOCIATED WITH THE SECOND VOYACE. 



79 




Aiicicnl, hi ii 



orata. Then, as his flame appeared, he drove the acicatcs deo[) into 
the sides nf the liorse wliich fell dead at her feet. 

331. Bronze stirrups, spur, etc., from 

Santo Domingo. 

The stirrup and spur are of 
bronze and of the fuiest work- 
niansliip, having been used by 
some caballcro of rank. Recovered 
from tlie niins of Vega Vieja, and 
loaned by tlie Socicthid Progrcsista, 
of La Vega, Santo Domingo. Oli- 
tained tlirough the courtesy of Mr. 
T. McLellan, Sanchez, Santo Do- 
mingo. 

332. Old Toledo blades from Santiago, 

Santo Domingo. 

Santiago de los Caballeros, in 
the interior of Santo Domingo, was 
settled mainly by Hidalgos, Span- 
iards of noble blood, who obtained iiermissioii from the King of Spain 
to affix this distinguished appellation, dc /os Cadiil/rros — of the gentle- 
men — to their city. Hence, there are yet resident there the descendants 
of some of the coitquistadores, who have retained at least a portion of 
the arms and martial cMpiipment of tlieir ancestors, and from them were 
obtained the old Toledos, here exhibited. The blades are vouched for 
as genuine from Toledo in Spain, which has produced as famous work 
as Damascus, and which were carried by the conquerors of America 
and did valiant service against the Indians. They are not numerous, 
and the most of them that can be found are supplied with new hilts, of 
rude and native workmanshij), making them unicjue and valuable. 

334. Lance head from the interior of Santo Domingo. 

Lance head once belonging to one of the conquistadorcs, and found in 
the ruins of Vega Vieja. 

The present town of La Vega has no ruins or antiquities, being a com- 
mercial center, near the banks of the river Camu. About four miles be- 
yond is the Santo Cerro, or Holy Hill, with a modern church, and a mile 
or so farther the ruined city of Vega Vieja, or Old Vega, destroyed by 
earthquake over three hundred years ago. Many minor anticjuities 
pertaining to the period of the coiujuest have been found there, and 
are still unearthed. 



So THE KELICS OF COLUMBUS. 

335' Fight between Spaniards and Indians. 

C)il paintinj;^ by H. F. Pluddcmann. Loaned by Professor Ehr- 
hardt, Wolfenbuttel, Germany. 

336. Antiquities from Vega Vieja, Santo Domingo. 

The city of Concepcion do la \'ega, or \'ega \"ieja, as it is now called 
by the natives, was completely destroyed by an earthquake in 1564. It 
was at that time an important place, beautifully situated, and as all the 
gold of the Cibao was brought there to be refined, previous to being sent 
to Spain, it has been thought that a great deal of treasure has been 
buried in the ruins. People have been digging for over three hundred 
years, not only for treasure, but for the brick and stone as building ma- 
terial. The old Spanish bricks are better than any now to be obtained, 
and the cut stone is excellent. The consequence is that the old city is 
nearly obliterated, only the fortress retaining any semblance of its origi- 
nal shape. 

A ])ortion of copper vessel, probably base of candlestick, is from the 
old church of ^'ega "\'ieja, now in ruins from the great earthquake of 
1504. Presented by Padre R. M. Vallejo. 

337. Stone from the ruins of Vega Vieja -with ring. 

Stone of ovoidal shape, the use of which is a matter of conjectu-"^. By 
some said to have hung in the tower of the church at ^'^ega \'ieja, rained 
by earthquake, 1504, and hy others to have served as a weight upon 
prisoners in irons. 

338. Ancient Moorish tiles, Santo Domingo. 

Found in the ruins of Vega Vieja, but brought from old Spain by the 
settlers and used in the adornment of the church. They are the old 
tiles called by the Spaniards ".A-zulejos," probably not of Moorish work- 
numship, but Spanish, of the tlrst part of the sixteenth century. 

339. Old Poniard, Santo Domingo. 

Found in the ruins of \'ega Vieja, and said to have belonged to a 
noted priest, who used it in defending his life from the Indians. 

340. Perforated iron plate, Santo Domingo. 

According to local trailition, this plate was used in sifting sands con- 
taining gold from the Rio \'erde, Santo I")omingo. The Rio ^'erde, and 
other rivers of the Cibao region, yield goUl from their sands to-day, and 
many people subsist from the gold they wash from the sands merely 
with wooden bowls or calabashes. The oUl mines are not worked, but the 
efforts of the natives are confined to the river sands. In the city of 
Santiago are goklsmiths who sometimes have native gold for sale, and 
nuggets are sUU found weighing above an ounce, sometimes several 
ounces in weight 



SCENES ASSOCIATED WITH THE SECOND VOYAGE. 




La VoKJi cross. 



341. A cross from La Vega, Santo Domingo. 

Mr. Obcr, the Conuuissioiier for tlic World's 
Columbian Exposition to the West Indies, ob- 
tained from the ruins of Concepcion dc la Vega 
an iron cross of antique and quaint design, which 
was probably contemporary with Columbus, and 
hung in the first church erected in America. It is 
sixteen and a half inches high, of open work, and 
the design represents a vine with leaves and fruit 
hanging from the tree and the arms of the cross. 

Loaned by the cure of Santo Cerro. 

342. Ruins of the second church erected in the Ne-w 

World at Concepcion de la Vega. 

343. Fac-simile of a cross erected by Columbus in 1494, after a victory over 

the Indians. 

At Santo Cerro, the holy hill of Santo Domingo, may be seen an 
ancient tree, called by the natives the " Nispero de Colon," beneath 
which, tradition states, Columbus stood while directing the operations of 
his army against the Indians in 1494, when the great victory then gained 
decided their fate forever. It is regarded as a sacred relic, and beneath 
it mass was celebrated after the victory. A cross was set up also by Colum 
bus, upon which the Virgin (it is said) once descended, and which was 
removed to the Cathedral at Santo Domingo in 1514, where it has been 
revered as a most sacred relic. This cross is an exact reproduction, and 
is made from beams of the castle in which Columbus was confined. 

344. Wood from the Tree of Columbus, Santo Cerro. 

345. Old bell from Santo Cerro, the " Holy Hill," in the interior of the island. 

Found in a corner of the Chapel of the Virgin, and from its appear- 
ance might be of more ancient date than the figures on its lip (1777) 
would indicate. It is interesting, not only from its date and appear- 
ance of antiquity, but from having hung in the tower of Santo Do- 
mingo's most sacred shrine. 

Presented by the priest in charge, Rev. Padre R. Vallejo, in exchange 

for a new bell, which now hangs in the tower of the church. 

* 

346. Church of Santo Cerro, Santo Domingo. 

Some five miles from the town of La Vega, in the interior of Santo 
Domingo, is the hill of Santo Cerro, on the summit of which is a hand- 
some chapel, recently completed, and which contains a very old and 
revered image of the Virgin. The chapel is near the site of the first 
cross erected here by Columbus to commemorate a great victory over 
the Indians, and yver a "holy w(;U" to which have been ascribed niirac- 



82 



THE RELICS OF COLUMBUS. 



uious virtues. In tlie bell tower to-day hangs a small bell presented by 
the Latin-American department of the Exposition in exchange for an 
ancient bell that once hung there. In his will Columbus directed his 
son Diego, when his estates yielded a sufificient revenue for the purpose, 
to erect a chapel on the sacred hill of the " Royal Plain " of Santo Do- 
mingo where masses might be said daily for the repose of the souls of 
himself and his relatives. A church was erected at this place shortly 
after, but it is not known that Diego contriliuted anything tinvard the 
expense. 

347. Santo Cerro, Santo Domingo. General view of the village. 

The holy hill, or Santo Cerro, lies 
about live miles distant from La ^'ega, 
whii'ii is reached by tiie Samana rail- 
road from the Ikin oI" Samana. 
is a famous 
place in the 
aimals of the 
islaiul, and 
seldom can 
a Dominican 
be found will 1 
has not .1: 
some time 
seen it Ihe Church and villjiiie of Simto t\>rvo. 

village here is composed of the priest's house and a single row of mis- 
erable thatched huts, occupied by the j^eople who make a living selling 
relics and attending upon the church, which contains a revered image 
of the \"irgin. 

348. Bajo-Bonico, or River Isabella, where it flows into the bay. 

349. Bay of Santa Gloria, Jamaica. 

In May, 1494, on his second voyage, Columbus discovered the beautiful 
coast of Jamaica, finally anchoring in the spacious harbor of St. Ann's 
Bay, which he named Santa Gloria. At this same place, on his fourth 
voyage, he ran his vessels ashore to prevent their sinking, and passed 
many nuMiThs there before he was rescued. 

350. North coast beach at St. Ann's. The Santa Gloria of Columbus. 

" St. Ann's is consiilored the finest jxirish on the north coast," says an 
old writer. "Earth has nothing more lovely than the pastures and 
pimento groves of St. Ann, nothing more enchanting than its hills and 
vales, deliciinis in verdure and redolent with the fragrance of spices. 




SCENES ASSOCIATED WITH THE SECOND VOYAGE. 8^ 

Embellished with wood and water from the deep forests whence the 
streams descend to the ocean in beautiful falls, the blue luize of the air 
blends and harmonizes all into beauty." 

351. Dry Harbor, Jamaica. 

Dry Harbt)r, called by the first discoverers Puerto Bueno, lies to the 
west of St. Ann's, and was visited by Columbus. Near this harbor is a 
cave of great length with two long galleries hung with stalactites of 
much beauty. It was at tlie end of his fourth and .last voyage that 
Columbus, driven thither by a storm, entered the port of Puerto Bueno, 
but finding no water here stood eastward to the present harbor of St. 
Ann's. 

352. Columbus trading with the Indians. 

Photograph of a Beauvais tapestry owned by Mrs. John W. Mackay, 
London, England. 

353. The crosses on Santo Cerro, the sacred hill of Columbus. 

354. Dish used in gold-washing, Santo Domingo. 

Altht)ugh the early Spaniards nearly exhausted the river-sands and 
superficial auriferous deposits, yet the great source of supply has never 
been found, or if found has never been worked, and the rivers and 
streams of the interior still bring down umchgold, especially after heavy 
rains. The people living along the rive ; banks gain a living by washing 
out the sands, using the primitive dishes here shown, sometimes making 
several dollars a day, but never working beyond what their necessities 
demand, and leaving off when they get enough to supply their innnedi- 
atc wants. 

355. Terra cotta figulines from Vega Vieja, interior of Santo Domingo. 

Prer.ented by Senor Don Natalio Redondo, tleputy to the National 
Congress of the island. 

This grotesque figure has the composite character of a bird and man, 
with quaint expressive face and big nose and ears. It may have served 
as a whistle, but probably was one of the " Zemes," or household gods, 
mentioned by the historians, and is tliought to liave belonged to 
Caonobo, the chief of the mountains, who was captured by Alonzo de 
Ojeda, and died a prisoner on the voyage to Spain. 

356. Figulines from Santo Domingo. 

Presented by T. Stalkowski, Sancliez, Santo Domingo. 

Similar to the clay heads so abundant in Mexico, especially in the 
fields about San Juan Teotihuacan, and doubtless served a similar pur- 
pose as offerings to the gods, or as household images. Heads of the 
same type are found all over the island, but not in the quantities that 
Mexico has [uoduced. 



84 THE RELICS OF COLUMBUS. 

357. Gum from the great gommier trees from the Island of Dominica, West 

Indies. 

This gum is used in the manufacture of torches by the natives of the 
islands, and also burnt in the churches as incense, the odor being very 
fragrant. 

358. Guiros from Santo Domingo. 

Presented by Mr. Alexander Bass, of Santo Domingo city. 

Guiros are primitive musical instruments, being merely native gourds, 
which are much used at fandangoes and common dances to accentuate 
the music of violin and guitar throughout the West Indies. 

359. Indian mortar and pestle, Santo Domingo. 

A very ancient mortar and pestle, recovered from the interior of Santo 
Domingo, used by the aborigines at the time Columbus was there and 
served to grind their maize and cassava. The pestle has a head carved 
on it, this being very commonly found on articles of this description. 
The type of mortar is a rare one, and may have served some special use, 
as the grinding of cacao, being flat, with a rim and of unusual shape. 

Loaned by the cure of La Vega, and to be returned through the good 
offices of T. McLellan, Esq., Sanchez^ Santo Domingo. 

360. Old wooden image from Isabella. 

Loaned by the National Museum, Washington. 

Some years ago a number of wooden images were found in a cave 
near the site of Isabella, the first town in the New World, and purchased 
by Mr. Gabb, who presented them to the Smithsonian Institution. They 
were discovered by an old negro, grinning at him from the mouth of a 
cave where they had rested probably nearly four hundred years. 

361. Tambols, or native drums, used by negroes of Santo Domingo and 

Domingo and other islands in their fandangoes and other dances. 

This primitive drum, made from a hollowed log, is the most ancient 
type in use, and was doubtless used by the Indians of these islands, 
although the same kind is in use in iVfrica, and was probably brought 
with the negroes in slave ships in early times. 

362. Mahogany paddle from Santo Domingo. 

Many of the paddles of the canoes in common use in Santo Domingo 
" are made of mahogany, that wood being abundant on the banks of the 
rivers and the hills near. The paddles are primitive, broad and clumsy 
and remind one of the description given by Columbus in his journal— 
that they resembled the " peel of a baker." This one came from the 
headwaters of the River Ozama. 

363. Native canoes from Santo Domingo. 

Made at the headwaters of the Ozama river after the type in use 
at the time of the first visits of the Spaniards. The same great trees are 



SCENES ASSOCIATED WITH THE SECOND VOYAGE. 8 5 

Still used, such as the ceiba or silk cotton, although they are getting 
scarce, and we do not find such large canoes as were seen in the time of 
Columbus. Hundreds of these canoes come down the Ozama river 
every day with charcoal, sugar-cane, Guinea grass, maize fodder, etc., to 
the water market of Santo Domingo. 

364. Bronze and brass objects from Vega Vieja, Santo Domingo, and frag- 

ments of ancient horse-shoes used on the horses of Columbus' men. 
Found in the ruins. 

365. Various articles of interest contributed to the Exposition by the people 

now living about the site of Isabella and other towns of Santo 
Domingo, that were founded by or identified with Columbus. 

366. Gold dust and flakes from Santo Domingo. 

The river Yanice, or Janico, is a tributary of the Yaqui, and on its 
banks was the first fort built by the Spaniards in the interior of Santo 
Domingo. It was called Santo Tomas, the name of the river being 
Indian— aboriginal. It is about the center of the ancient gold region, 
and gold is found there in small quantities at the present time, a nugget 
being procured by the commissioner weighing half an ounce, and one 
seen by him that weighed five ounces. These flakes were washed out 
by the peofvle living there by means of shallow wooden dishes in primi- 
tive manner. 

367. Altar of old church at Santo Cerro with a miraculous image of the 

Virgin. 

368. The first map of Santo Domingo, said to have been drawn by 

Columbus. 

Original in the Columbina library, Seville. 

369. Indian houses and hammock as described by Columbus. 

From Oviedo's History. 



THE RELICS OF COLUMBUS. 



SECTION G. 



SCENES ASSOCIATED WITH THE THIRD VOYAGE 
OF COLUMBUS. 



View of Boca del Drago, Trinidad, West Indies. 

On the 81st of July, 1498, while on his third voyage westward, three 
sh;ii[) nunmtain peaks were sighted rising from a fertile island to which 
C\>hunlnis gave the name of La Trinidad, in honor of the Trinity, i\nd it 
is still known by that title. Here he met with a strange phenomenon in 
the fium of a raging surge of nuuldy water, which nearly swamped his 
vessels. Finding that it was fresh, he reasoned to a correct conclusion 
that it came from a river greater than he had ever known or dreamed of 
- the (hinoco. 

d'lumbus crossed the Boca del Drago (the mouth of the Dragon), the 
strait which tlivides the island of Trinidad from the continent, five days 
later, and then for the first time set foot upon the continent of South 
America, but he did not know that it was terra firma. Had he continued 
his cruise along the coast he might have given the newly-discovered world 
his name, but he left the ex[)loration of that territory for Americus \'es- 
l)ucius and other voyagers who followed him. 

Columbus was very ill; his eyes were almost sightless from lack of 
sleep and exposure to the reflection of the tropical sun upon the sea, and 
he was tortured with the cruel agonies of the gout, so he turned the bows 
of his vessels novtlnvard. 
An anchor found on the coast of Trinidad. 

Loaned In Mr. Augustino of Trinidail. 

On the 4th of August, 1498, Columbus anchored 
off the southwestern extremity of the island of" 
Trinidad. Late at night he saw a wall of water 
approaching the fleet from the south. His own 
yessel was lifted up so high by the incoming waves 
that he feareil to be submerged or dashed on shore, 
while the cable of one of the other ships parted 
under the strain to which it was subjected, carrying 
away the anchor by which the vessel was held. 
Many years ago, while some laborers were digging 
a deep trench upon a cocoanut estate near Icaques, 
where this accident occurred, about three hundred 
and fifty feet from the sea. they struck a bit of iron, which, upon bemg 
dugout, proved to be ananchor of antiquated pattern. The land on this 




Trinidad anchor. 



SCENES ASSOCIATED WITH THE THIRD VOYAGE. 87 

part of the island has l)ecii cncroacliing upon the sea for many years, and 
it is believed that the spot where the anciior was found was covered by 
water at the time of Columbus. 

372. Landing of Columbus at Pearl Island. 

From De 15ry's Voyages. 

Columl)us discovered the Pearl Islands August If), 1498, sailing from 
the (iulf of Paria, and on approaching the small island of Cubagua, he 
saw Indians iishing for pearls. The jiearls were so a])undant and so 
little valued by the Indians, that Columbus obtained over three pounds 
of thenij in exchange for broken crockery and such worthless stuff. 
vSome of these were very large and were sent to the Spanish sovereigns 
as specimens. Columbus at that time was nearly blind, and was com- 
pelled to leave this promising coast and steer for Hispaniola, where he 
arrived about the 20th of August. 

373. Autograph letter of Francisco Roldan, 1502, that caused Columbus to 

be disgraced and brought home from Santiago in chains. 

Reaching Santo Domingo, Columl)us found a large i)ortion of the col- 
ony in rebellion under the leadership of Roldan, the chief-justice of the 
ishmd, who had been raised from obscurity by Columbus, but was am- 
bitious for even greater power. It was the most serious difficulty he had 
ever encountered, and his conduct in this case has been the subject of 
much discussion, as well as the cause of the greatest humiliation he 
suffered, for the consequence of these troubles and others that followed 
was his return to Si)ain in chains. Roldan wrote this letter to the Coun- 
cil of the Indies'at Seville, making serious charges against Columbus. 

374. Arrest of Columbus by Bobadilla. 

The complaints of Roldan having reached the Court, Francesco de 
Bobadilla, an officer of the royal household, was sent to Hispaniola in- 
vested with supreme power, to make an investigation. He was given 
both criminal and civil jurisdiction, was authorized to arrest all who 
resisted his authority, and Columbus, "the Admiral of the Ocean Sea," 
. was directed to surrender everything to him. He was also furnished 
with blanks, signed by the King and Queen, to be filled out with orders 
at his discretion. 

375. Columbus imprisoned by Bobadilla. 

Original drawing l)y H. F. Pluddemaim. Loaned by Mrs. Pluddemann, 
Wcisserhirscli, Cicrmany. 

376. Columbus imprisoned by Bobadilla. 

Sketch in color by H. F. Pluddemann. Loaned by Mrs. Pluddemann, 
Weisserhirsch, Oermany. 

377. Columbus and Bobadilla. 

15y H. F. Pluddemann. Loaned ])y Mrs. J'luddemaiin, Weisser- 
hirsch, Germany. 



88 THE RELICS OF COLUMBUS. 

378. Citadel at Santo Domingo, in which Columbus is said to have been 

imprisoned by Bobadilla. 

Coluuibus, at tlie time of Bobadilla's arrival at Santo Domingo, was on 
a journey to the interior of the island. His brother Diego, who was in 
command, was at once arrestetl and confined in irons on board of one of 
the caravels in the harbor. Bobadilla seized the paper and money of 
Columbus, and ordered him to return at once. This castle, which was, 
it is said, connnencctl by Bartholomew Columbus in 149G, stands to-day 
very much as it ilid then, and from its tower incoming vessels are 
signaled. When the order from Bobadilla for Columbus to surrender 
himself to him reached the latter, he was far in the interior, at the for- 
tress of Concepcion de la Vega. Immediately complying, he departed 
for the capital, traveling across the island almost alone and unattended. 
Arriving there, he was at once seized and init in irons, and confined in 
- the fortress, the irons being kept on him until a caravel was ready to 
take him to Spain, and even during the long and weary voyage, and in 
this conditiotx he was deliveretl over to the alcalde at Cadiz. 

Bobadilla demantled that Columbus send instructions to his brothei 
Bartholomew, who was in the interior with an armed force, to come in 
and surrender, which the admiral did. Bartholomew was also placed 
in irons and confined in one of the caravels, with Diego Columbus. 
The admiral expected to be executed, and when Alonzo de Villcjo, "a 
man of honorable character," says Las Casas, "and a firm friend of 
Columbus," came to the dungeon to conduct hini to the ship that was to 
convey him to Si)ain, the admiral asked: "Whither do you take me?" 
"To embark on the ship for Spain, Your Excellency," was the reply. 
"To embark, \'illejo? Is that the truth?" "It is true." 

379. Columbus returning to Spain in chains. 

11. V. riuddcmaun. Loaned by Mrs. Pluddemann, Weisserhirsch, 
Ciornuuu'. 

380. Columbus in chains. 

It is said that none of the soldiers were willing to place the chains on 
Columbus, and that the act was done by his own cook. "He was a shame- 
less fellow," writes Las Casas. "I knew him, ami 1 think his name was 
l^sjiinosa." 

381. Columbus in chains. 

The caravel set sail for Spain in October, 1500, and during the voyage 
when Villejo offered to remove his chains, Columbus replied: "No; my 
sovereigns ordered me to submit, and Bobadilla has chained me. 1 will 
wear these irons until they are rcmovetl by royal order, and then I shall 
koc]) them as relics of the rewanl that is given me for ifiv services." 



SCENES ASSOCIATED WITH THE THIRD VOYAGE. 



89 



This is the account of Las Casas, and Fernando Columbus adds: "He 
did so. I saw them always hanging in his cabinet, and he requested 
that when he died they might be buried with him." 

382. Columbus in chains. 

Loaned by Manuel V. I'ango y Leon, Havana, Cuba. (In the chapel. 
For sale.) 

383. Photographs of chains belonging to Cavalier 

G. Baldi of Genoa, claimed to be the same 

placed upon Columbus by Bobadilla. 

It has always been supposed that the 
chains were jilaced in the coffin of Colum- 
bus, when after his death he was laid in the 
f>anciscan Monastery at Valladolid. But, 
when the coffin was opened upon the re- 
moval of the remains to Seville a few years 
afterward, the chains were missing. Cava- 
lier Baldi of Genoa claims that tiie chains 
were removed from the coffin before burial 
by the keeper of the tavern in which he died, 
and secreted for many years by the family 
of the latter, from whose descendants he 
(Signor Baldi) obtained them, and they now 
constitute the chief treasure of the Cabinet 
of Mementos of Columl)us. 
2P5. Columbus on the homeward voyage. 

386. Columbus a prisoner. 

387. Columbus on the deck of his vessel. 

388. Citadel at Santo Domingo, in which Columbus was imprisoned by 

Bobadilla. 

Commenced in 1490 by Bartholomew Columbus. 

The Hotnenaje is on the Inink of the Ozama, a most picturesque cita- 
del, in excellent preservation, and the oldest building of its kind in 
America. 

389. Pieces of wood from the beam to which Columbus was chained. 

Loaned by John C. Calhoun, No. 80 Broadway, New York. 

In 1849 President Taylor sent Mr. Ben E. Green, of Dalton, Georgia, 
on a secret mission with pleniiiotentiary jjowers to negotiate a treaty with 
the government of Santo Domingo. While there he visited the house in 
which Columbus lived during his stay in Santo Domingo. The ruins 
have since disappeared. The only piece of timber then remaining was 
a mahogany lintel, which was jircsented to Mr. Cireen by the Minister of 




I'liaius of ('olumbns. 



90 



384 



390. 






THE RELICS OF COLUMBOis. 

Foreign Relations. He took it on board the United States steamer 
"Vixen," and had the ship's carpenter saw it into blocks, which were dis-. 
tributed among the officers of that vessel. 
Enlarged fac-simile of inscriptions upon chains belonging to Cavalier 

G. Baldi of Genoa, claimed to be the same placed upon Columbus by 

Bobadilla. ^ 

The chain weighs thirty- // Jc^''^ . -• O C/^/S n ^^^ 
four hundred grammes j\ ^^'v!!^ 

(s e V e n pounds eight ounces), 
and are divided into four 
parts, namely: 1. Large chain 
to be fastened to the ankle, 
with an extension to encircle 
the waist, six feet three and 
three-hfth inches in length. 
2. Small chain with handcuffs, 
two feet one and three-fifths 
inches in length. 3.' Two other 
links, connected together, five 
and one-half inches long. 4. 
The lock. On -the fetters and 
handcuffs are inscriptions of 




Pf^ res — o A V 



+- XPO Ff REMS H- 

Inscriptions on chains of ColDmbus. 
abbreviated words and interpolated signs, characteristic of the time, 
which Cavalier Baldi interpreted as follows: "The arrow of calumny gave 
three shackles to Don Christopher. Columbus, the dove that carried the 
tidings of Christianity to the New World, who died at my house, Apo- 
sento, Valladolid, May, ISOfi, in the peace of Christ. Francisco M — ro 
(name of innkeeper) had this engraved as a pledge of jealous and eter- 
nal remembrance. Christ Bearer, 1499." 

Letter of Columbus to the nurse of Don Juan. 

In the folU)wing October (bMJO), after a pleasant voyage, the caravels 
of Villejo, bearing the three manacled brothers, Christopher, Bartholo- 
mew and Diego Columbus, entered the harbor of Cadiz. While at sea 
Columbus had prepared his famous letter addressed to Dona Juana de la 
Torre, who is usually spoken of as the "nurse" of Prince Juan, but was 
really his governess, or the person in charge of his education, a lady of 
rare culture, of confidential relations with the Queen, and great influ- 
ence with Ferdinand as w^ell as with Isabella. This was the pitiful mon- 
ody in which the admiral moans that he has "now reached the point 
where there is no man so vile, but thinks it his right to insult me ;" and 
with the chains dragging tlown his arms he relates at length the misery 



SCENES ASSOCIATED WITH THE THIRD VOYAGE. 



91 




and injustice lie has suffered. Being forwarded promptly to Granada, 
where the court was sitting, the letter fell into the hands of Isabella, 
who endeavored to atone for the injustice by ordering the instant release 
of the admiral, and writing him a letter of sympathy, it is said, with her 
own hands. She directed the alcalde of Cadiz to provide him with a 
princely escort, and sent him two thousand golden ducats to i)rocure 
proper apparel and pay the expenses of his journey. 

391. Cell said to 

have been 
occupied by 
Columbus in 
the old cita- 
del at Santo 
Domingo. 

392. Piece of tim- 

ber from the 
house in 
which Co- 
lumbus lived 
at Santo Do- 

° ' View of the sea from the homenaje. 

393. Splinter from the timber to which Columbus was chained in the dun- 

geon at Santo Domingo. 

Brought from Santo Domingo by Ben E. Green, 1849. Loaned by 
• John C. Calhoun, New York. 

While Mr. Green was in Santo Domingo he visited the dungeon in 
the homenaje, or castle, in which, it is supposed, Columbus was impris- 
oned. A round iron bar extended between two timbers embedded in 
the walls. Around this bar was a loose iron ring, which permitted Colum- 
bus to take exercise by walking back and forth across the narrow con- 
fines of his cell. In 1849 the iron bar was gone, but by permission of the 
government Mr. Green was allowed to cut a splinter from the timbers 
of lignumvit;i; in the walls. 

395. Hesper appearing to Columbus in prison. 

From Ikirlow's " Colombian." 

396. Indian torches, Island of Dominica, West Indies. 

The Caribs of Dominica, and also the black people of other islands in 
the West Indies, make large torches of bark filled with the gum of the 
gommier tree, which gives out not only a brilliant light, but fragrant in- 
cense. With these torches the mountain residents hunt the crapauds 



92 



THE RELICS OF COLUMBUS, 



and nocturnal animals, and the Indians fish the streams. The gum of 
the ,i,M)nnnier, which grows in the mountains to >:ci'eat height, is frequently 
used in the churches as incense. 
397. Articles made by Caribs, Island of Dominica, West Indies. 

The Caribs of Dominica make many little things for use among them- 
selves, such as panniers or baskets, basket-work playthings, etc, as well 
as serviceable canoes in which they make long trips around the island. 
Out of the calabashes they make their dishes. They are very expert 
with their knives, whittling out many things of use in their huts, which 
latter they sometimes put up without the use of nail or hammer. 




Columbus relating his ndvontun's to Isabolia. 

398. Reception of Columbus by Queen Isabella on his return from his third 

voyage. 

By Jover. 

The reception of Columbus by Isabella ujion his arrival at Granada, 
December 17, 1501), was one of the most ])athetic scenes in history. 
Oviedo, the historian, was a witness and describes it in detail. "The 
Queen," he says, "burst into tears, and Columbus fell sobbing at her 
feet. She tinik his hands and led him to a seat, and when he was able to 
control his emotion he recited at length the wrongs and humiliations he 



SCENES ASSOCIATED WITH THE THIRD VOYAGE. 03 

had suffered in her service. Ample restitution was promised, but there is 
no record that Columbus ever received anything more than sympathy. He 
was not restored to his rank and command as viceroy, and it was- fifteen 
months before he could obtain permission to make another voyage. Even 
then he was denied the privilege of an asylum at Santo Domingo, where, 
under his contracts with the sovereigns, he was to be a perpetual ruler. 
The testimony of the historians of that date, however, acquits Isabella of 
ingratitude or indifference, for she was over-ruled by the Council of the 
Indies, under Fonseca." 

399. Pannier, or Carib basket, Island of Dominica, West Indies-. 

Some descendants of the ancient Caribs, discovered by Columbus, 
still live in the islands of Dominica and St. Vincent in the southern 
West Indies and preserve many of the old customs of their ancestors. 
They subsist by fishing and agriculture, and make the native baskets in 
conmion use in the islands. These panniers are made of two thicknesses 
of woven reed-strips called the roseau, between which is a layer of leaves 
of the balisier, or wild plantain, rendering them waterproof. They are 
extensively used as trunks by the natives, and the demand is usually 
greater than the very indolent Caribs are inclined to supply. 

400. Canoes from the Island of Dominica. 

Made by the Caribs, present inhabitants of the Windward coast, and 
descendants of the Carib Indians discovered by Columbus. 

These are probably of the same type as those built and used by the 
Caribs when first seen by the Spaniards. 

401. Petrifactions from the Island of Antiqua. 

Some of these petrifactive silicificationsare valuable specimens, beiu"- 
of cocoa palm and other tropical woods. 

402. Hercules beetles from Dominica Island. 

Discovered by Columbus in 1498, on his second voyage. 

403. Crapauds, or large frogs from Dominica. 

Caught and eaten by the Caribs. 

404. " Job's tears." 

Seeds native to the Caribees and used by the Indians as beads. 

405. Jombie beans. 

Seeds usedby the native Indians as beads. 



94 



THE RELICS OF COLUMBUS. 



SECTION H. SCENES ASSOCIATED WITH THE FOURTH AND 
LAST VOYAGE OF COLUMBUS. 




410 
411 

413 
414 

415 



Bay of Santo Domingo. 

Castle at Santo Domingo from the sea. 

Old church at Santo Domingo. 

The oldest church in America, San Antonio, Santo Domingo. 

Old city wall, Santo Domingo. 



SCENES ASSOCIATED WITH THE LAST VOYAGE. 



95 




Viow of Santo DomiuKo city, 
412. View of Santo Domingo. 

Havin.i;' failed to ol)laiiillie liiiids and authority to undertake the imous 
mission of rescuing the holy sepulcher from the infidels, Columbus 
turned his attention again to geography and navigation, and succeeded 
in convincing Ferdinand and the councilors at Court of the possibility 
of sailing westward, around the world, and finding a better i)assage to 
the Indies than by the African route, which had been discovered by the 
Portuguese. For this purpose he obtained royal permission to fit out a 
fleet at Cadiz, early in 1502, and sailed on the 9th of May with four little 
caravels. They were not larger than ordinary fishing vessels, for th^ 
burden of the largest was only seventy tons, and the smallest fifty, and 
there were but one hundred and fifty men in their combined crews. And 
even after all his imiiortunities, and all the promises he had received, he 
was forbidden to visit Hispaniola. Nevertheless he determined to do so, 
and having arrived at Santo Domingo, asked permission to anchor in 
the harbor, as a storm was threatening, and one of his ships having 
become unscaworthy he wished to exchange it for another. 

416. The storm that wrecked the fleet of Bobadilla. 

From l)e 15ry. 

The newly-arrived governor of Hisi)aniola, Nicolas de OvantU), was 
familiar with the conditions under which Columbus .sailed on his fourth 
voyage, and forbade him the protection of the port of Santo Domingo, 
so the admiral sought rqfuge in another harbor to the westward. The 
fleet that had brought Ovando was laden and was ready to return to 
Sjiain. Among its passengers was Bobadilla, who had placed Columbus 
in chains, and Roldan, who had letl the rebellion against him two years 



96 " THE RELICS OF COLUMBUS. 

previous. Their ships put to sea and were lost in the storm that CoUmibus 
had predicted ; but his little fleet survived in the shelter he had found 
lower down the coast. 

417. Street in Truxillo, near the place where Columbus first landed on the 

American continent. 

Having repaired his ships, Columbus sailed westward past Jamaica, 
until he made land on the shores of Honduras at Carxinas Point, near the 
town of Truxillo. Had he gone further westward he might have anticipated 
Cortez in the conquest of Mexico, but he was not looking for new lands. 
He sought a western passage around the world, and turning east- 
ward groped along the coast seeking the channel he felt should be 
there, cruising into each river and following the shore lines of each gulf 
and bay. Exposure and disappointment had shattered the constitution 
of the once hardy seaman, and his strength was fast failing. His old 
enemy, the gout, had attacked him again, and the miasmatic coasts had 
filled him with fever. There was little left of him but his will. He 
had a Inuik l)uilt in the bows of his little vessel where he ccuild rest his 
weary l)ones and still guide the course of his fleet. And thus he ex- 
plored the whole coast of the istlnnus, from Yucatan to Colombia, find- 
ing an unbroken line of continent in defiance of all his theories, in 
contradiction to all his reasoning, and an impassible barrier to the am- 
bition he had cherished for thirty years. 

418. View of the river near Truxillo, on which the companions of Columbus 

had a battle w^ith the natives. 

On the coast of Honduras, Columbus found evidences of a higher 
civilization than had appeared among- the natives of the islands he had 
previously visited. The Indians were better looking, more intelligent 
and more warlike than any he had yet seen. While the natives of the 
islands stood in awe of the white men, and showed a gentleness of de- 
meanor, those of Honduras offered resistance at once, and greeted the 
voyagers with a shower of arrows from their cross-bows. They wore 
garments of cotton, they had copper knive's and hatchets, pottery of 
exquisite workmanship, and their houses were built of stone and adobe. 
The government of Honduras has recently issued a decree for the erec- 
tion of a monument to mark the siKit where Columbus first landed upon 
the soil of Central America. It will be a life-size statue standing upon 
a pedestal, and will bear the inscription: "The Re|niblic of Hon- 
duras to Christopher Columbus, 1492-1892." 

419. Scene on the Rio Dulce, Guatemala, where the vessels of Columbus 

grounded. 

422. Chapel at Truxillo, erected in 1540, 



SCENES ASSOCIATED WITH THE LAST VOYAGE. 



97 



420. Present appearance of the place where Columbus first landed in Hon- 
duras. 



421. 

423. 
424. 

425- 




Indian huts when Columbus landed in Honduras. 

Columbus determined to establish a colony at the spot where now stands 
the town of Truxillo. There were signs of abundant gold there. It was 
his purpose to hold the region and accumulate treasure while he returned 
to Spain to report the discoveries and bring back the supplies and rein- 
forcements. Eighty men under the command of Bartholomew, his 
brother, agreed to remain. The provisions and other supplies were 
divided, and the colonists commenced to erect houses for their shelter. 
The admiral was ready to sail, and was awaiting favorable'winds, when 
it was discovered by those on shore that the natives were preparing for 
an attack up6n the colony. It came soon after with great disaster. A 
boat was sent to the admiral's ship outside the bar with the news, and a 
request from the colonists that he would not sail without them. The boat 
was upset and the crew were drowned. Finally a sailor succeeded in 
swimming through the surf and told the sad tale to Columbus. A raft 
was made of two Indian canoes lashed together, and the survivors of the 
massacre reached the ship. 
Old fortress at Truxillo, built by Cortez, 1526. 

Outside its walls, Walker, tlie filibuster, was executed. 
Indian village near Truxiilo. 
Two native houses near Truxillo. 
Views of Puerto Bello, Isthmus of Panama. 

At the site of Puerto Bello, on the Isthmus of Panama, Columbus estab- 
lished a colony during his fourth and last voyage for the purpose of as- 
certaining the source from which the Indians got their gold, but it existed 



98 



THE RELICS OF COLUMBUS. 



426. 



427. 



only four months. Several of the party were massacred by the Indians, 
and many died of disease. The food became low, and the ships were 
so worm-eaten that they would scarcely float, so he started back toward 
Hispaniola, and the leaking caravels were beached in Santa Gloria Bay, 
on the northern coast of Jamaica. As the name (bestowed by Columbus 
in 1502) implies, Puerto Bello has a very tine harbor, with from eight to 
ten fathoms of water at the entrance of the bay, with Drake Point on the 
north and Buenaventura Island on the south. A town was founded 




Walls of Puerto Bello. 
tliere in 1584, wliich rapidly grew in importance, being the great depot 
for the gold and silver from Peru brought across the isthmus and taken 
to Spain by the royal galleons. It was destroyed in 1739 by Admiral 
\'ernon, of the British navy. The population was at that time ten thou- 
sand, but it is now less than one thousand, the decline being'due to the loss 
of trade and the unhealthiness of its situation. 
Columbus in Jamaica predicting the eclipse to the Indians. 

By H. F. Pluddemann. Owned by Mrs. Pluddemann, Weisserhirsch, 
Germany. 
Lettera Rarissima di Cristoforo Colombo. 



SCENES ASSOCIATED WITH THE LAST VOYAGE. QQ 

428. Christopher's Cove, St. Ann's Bay, where Columbus was wrecked. 



429. 

430. 
431- 
432. 
433- 

434- 




Where Columbus was wrecked. 

A mile or more to the east of St. Ann's Bay, which Columbus named 
Santa Gloria, he ran his ships aground and, lashing them together, built 
thatched cabins on their decks. "Thus castled in the sea, he hoped to 
be able to repel any invaders and at the same time to keep his men from 
roving about the neighborhood and committing their usual excesses." 
Here he was compelled to remain for nearly a year, until finally 
rescued by a vessel from Santo Domingo. The cove is a beautiful and 
secluded one, with white sand beach and bordering fringe of sea-grape 
trees. It was visited and photographed by the Columbian commissioner 
in 1891. 
Bay of Santa Gloria, Jamaica, near which Columbus ^was wreck on 

his fourth voyage. 
Christopher's Cove, Jamaica, from the sea. 
Port Maria, Jamaica, visited by Columbus. 
Lucca, Jamaica, visited by Columbus. 
Prison built from the ruins of first fort erected by the Spaniards in 

Jamaica. 
Landing place at Christopher's Cove. 

While the preparations for the departure from Jamaica were going on 
Columbus prepared the letter to his sovereigns, which has frequently 



100 THE RELICS OV COLUMBUS. 

been published as evidence that he had become insane. The original 
Sjianish text was discovered in the King's Library at Madrid by Nava- 
rette, early in this century and has been printed as the " Lettera Raris- 
^sima di Cristoforo Colombo. " The letter is a jumble of incoherent 
thoughts, without plan or purpose, and is calculated to arouse the deep- 
est pity, because it is a sorrowful index of his wandering reason. He 
reviews his career in Spain and his relations with the sovereigns, recalls 
many incidents of neglect and mortification which he had experienced. 

"I was twenty-eight years old," he says "when Lcame into Your High- 
ness' service, and now I have not a hair upon me that is not gray; my 
body is infirm, and all that was left to me, as well as to my brother, has 
been taken away and sold, even to the frock that I wore, to my great 
dishonor." 

He then recalls old geographical and astronomical problems, and 
finally turns Ixick to his quest for gold. "Gold is the most precious of 
all commodities. Gold constitutes treasure, and he who possesses it has 
all he needs in this world, as also the means of rescuing souls from pur- 
gatory and restoring them to the enjoyment of {laradisc." 

435. Indian cacique in Cuba or Jamaica, addressing Columbus concerning 

a future state. (From an old print.) 

Alter witnessing a Spanish mass, aii old Intiian approached Columbus' 
and said: "Know you, that according to our belief, the souls of men 
have two journeys to perform after they have departed from the body. 
One to a place dismal and foul, prepared for those who have been un- 
just and cruel to their fellowmen; the other, pleasant and full of delight, 
for such as have promoted peace on earth. If, then, thou art mortal, 
and dost expect to die, and dost believe that each one shall be rewarded 
according to his deeds, beware that thou wrongfully hurt no man, nor do 
harm tti those who have done no harm to thee." Advice which it would 
have been well if Columbus had heeded. 

436. Island of Navassa, between Jamaica and Hayti. 

From a photograph by the Columbian commissioner. 

This island was the one at which the messenger sent by Columbus to 
Santo Domingo, with information of his shipwreck and request for succor, 
landed with his Indian crew. This messenger was Diego Mendez, who 
left Jamaica, where Columbus remained a prisoner for nearly a year, 
owing to the stranding of his vessels, and undertook to cross to Hayti, 
and but for his arrival at Xavassa, on the way, would have perished of 
thirst and fatigue. 
437- Fight between Columbus and Porras. 

On the 2d of January, 1604, when the ships of Cohnnbus had been 



SCENES ASSOCIATED WITH THE LAST VOYAGE. lol 

wrecked on the coast of Jamaica, Francisco de Porras attacked the 
admiral, claiming that he had purposely destroyed his ships in order to 
prevent them from returning to Spain. A battle occurred between Porras 
and forty-eight men, and the remainder of the crew of Columbus. 

EARLY PICTURES OF AMERICA FROM DE BRY'S VOYAGES. 



438. Persecution of the Indians by the Spaniards. 

439. Indians trying to ascertain the Spaniards are immortal. 

440. Massacre of priests by the Indians in Santo Domingo. 

441. Sir Walter Raleigh making a treaty with the Indians of the Orinoco. 

442. Indians of Santo Domingo making sugar. 

443. Pouring melted gold down the throats of Spaniards. 

444. Columbus receiving presents from the wife of the cacique. 

445. The people of Florida sacrificing their first-born to the sun. 

446. Method of burying the dead among the Indians of America. 

447. Burial of an Indian princess. 

448. Indians gathering dew from the trees. 

449. Indians fighting the Spaniards from the branches of the trees. 

450. Indians visiting the ships of Columbus. 

451. Indians cooking fish. 

452. Indians cooking beasts and fish. 

453. Massacre of priests in Santo Domingo. 

454. Execution of mutineers by Columbus. 

455. Indian religious ceremonies. 

456. Strange animals seen by Columbus. 

457. Natives oi" Brazil. 

From Description de L'Universby Allain Manesson Mallctt, Paris, 1633. 

458. City of Salvador (Bahia), Brazil, in 1600. 

From I)escri|)tiun de L'lJnivers by Allain Manesson Mallctt, Paris, 
1633. 

459. City of Cartagena, Colombia. 

From Descri[)tion de L'lJnivers by Allain Manesson Mallett, Paris, 
1633. 

460. City of Havana. 

From Description de L'Univers liy Allain Manesson Mallett, Paris, 
1633. 



102 111 I'. Kia.lCS Ol' COLUMBUS. 

People of Virginia. 

I'loiii Dcsiriplioii di- 1,'l'iiivcis by Alluiii Maiiessoii Mallet, 16311 
The mountain of Potosi, Bolivia. 

I'loiu Description dc l/l'iiivcrs by Allaiii Manesson Mallett, 16% 
Natives of Cuba preparing their evening meal. 

I'lom an old print. 
Terrible monster seen by Columbus. 

1' roin Joim t)i;il])y's 1 listoiy of America, KiTl. 
Indians entertaining the Spaniards. 

1' loni riiilopono's X'oyaj^c to tiic New W'oild ol the Western Indies- 
Family of Caribs from the Island of Dominica. 
Strange animals seen by the discoverers. 

1' roni John ()gilby"s History of America, KiTl. 
Facsimile of an old engraving showing how the Indians made bread. 

1' rom lk'n/,t)ni. 
Fac-simile of an old engraving showing the Indian method of torturing 

Spaniards by pouring gold down their throats. 

From Henzoni. 
Natives of America carrying their queen. 

As desciilu'd bv nailluilonu'w C Dlumbns \vln.'n lie tiist visited the site 
ol Santo I )()niini;(i. 
Cannibals roasting children. 

From Ho Hry's Voyaji;c5. 
Indian feast. 

I'kuh He Hry's \'oya5^es. 
Indians harassing Spaniards. 

[•rom De i5ry's \'oyai;es. 
Great conversion of the Indians. 

I'' rom I'hilopono. 
Bell of Cartagena. 

Loaned l)y Monsis^nor l'"n,u;enio HilTi. Archbishop of Coliimliia. 

Tiie city of C'arlaj^ena, Colombia, was foundetl on the 'JOth of Janu- 
ary, LVJ;>, and was iunnediately made aji l'".piscoi)al see. The lirst 
arilibisi\op Was Fray Tomas de Tore. He arrived at Cartagena in 
VM and founded the Convent of San Esteban de Salamanca, with a 
clmrch of the same name. When he set sail for the New World he took 
with him all the parai>hernalia for the church, including a bell which 
was presented to him by Ciiarles \', the L.mperor of Spain. It was a 
beanldul piece of wDrkmanship, weighing about seventy-live pounds, 
and bears the folU)wing inscription: "Ave Maria sin pecado concebido, 
1U)4"— (Hail Mary conceived without sin). Below this is a small raised 
cross. It is l)elieved that the ligures intlicate the year in which the bell 
was cast, and tliat it was procured by the emjieror from some convent or 
church in Spain. 



THE LAST DAYS OF COl.UMUUS. 



103 



SECTION I. THE LAST DAYS OF COLUMBUS. 

485. City of Seville. 

Published early in the sixteenth century, j:;ivin,L; a view of the house 
of Coluinhus. Engraved on copper. 

486. City of Seville. 

Engraved on copper, 1580. 

This, the Queen City of Andalusia, is most conspicuous in its relation 
to the voyages of Columbus, especially the later ones, as here was the 
market for the New World products, and many of the ex[)editions were 
fitted out from this port on the GuadaUjuivir; it is identiticd with the 
last days of Columbus, as his place of residence previous to his last 
journey which eniled in his death. 

487. View of the port of Seville and the Tower of Gold from the Palace of 

San Telmo. 




488. Cross in the Cathedral at Seville. 

Made from the first gold brought by Columl)us from the New World. 
In the Cathedral at Seville is a cross which is said to be made of the 
gold brought by Columl>us from the New World. 

489. The Tower of Gold at Seville. 

What is known as tlie Tower of Cold, an old Roman structure on the 



104 



TllK RELICS OF COLUMDUS. 



490. 



491. 



Guad;ikiui\ ir, was designated as a special custom hcnisc, or depository 
for gold and other articles hrout^iit from the Indies. It is locally known 
as the Tnrc dil Oro, and within it was placed much of the treasure 
from the voyages of Columbus. 

View of the Alcazar Seville, in which Columbus is said to have had 

interviews with Queen Isabella. 
Convent of Cartuja. 



From the time 
age, in Novem- 
hus lay ill at tlie 



of his return from his last voy- 
her, 1504, to May, 1505, Ct)lum- 
Convent of Cartuja, with hi? 




old friend Father Caspar Corricio, near Seville. He suffered from gout and 
from fevers contracted in Honduras and during his long exile in Jamaica. 
His time was mostly spent in writing long and often incoherent letters to 
his sovereigns, to Pit'go his son, anil to other persons at court, bewail- 
ing his misfortunes and the ingratitude of mankind, and appealing for 
com[)ensation due him and some substantial recognition for his services.* 
492. Autograph of Christopher Columbus, 1502. 

While at Seville, in 1505, Columbus saw a good deal of Americas \'es- 
pucius. They had become acquainted -while the admiral was fitting out 
his ships for his second voyage, the contract for furnishing the supplies 
having been awarded to a merchan.t nnmed Bcradi, by whom Vespucius 
was employed, and the latter had aeti\e charge of the business. In the 
meantime Vespucius had himself made two voyages, cruising along a 
good deal of the northern coast of South America, and down the east 
coast as far as Rahia, Brazil, where the Portuguese had established a 
trading post. It was at the conclusion of Ids second voyage, in Septem- 

* Tho originals of some of tho letters are shown in the chapel. 



THK LAST DAYS OF COLUMBUS. 



105 



492. 



ber, 1504, that Americus had written the account of his discoveries which 
three years later caused his name to be given to the New World; but 
there is no reason to believe that he anticipated or even hoped that his 
fame would be so closely linked to the western hemisphere. Nor is there 
any evidence of tlie slightest rivalry or jealousy between the two voy- 
agers. 
Page of "De las Profecias." Autograph of Columbus. 

A book written l)y Columbus to prove that his discoveries were pre- 
dicted by the- Srri|itures. Original in Columbian library, Seville. 









r*- 



\, a J,^^^ 



Autograph of Columbus. 
While Columbus was at the Coiiveiit of Cartuja near Seville, after his 
last voyage, impatiently waiting the fulfillment of tiie renewed assur- 
ances he had received from his sovereigns, he wrote his "Libros de las 
Profecias," or Book of Prophecies, the manuscript of which is still pre- 
served in the Columbian library at Seville. In this work Columbus 
endeavored to prove that his discoveries were predicted in the Scriptures, 
but no publisher has ever considered the document of sufficient impor- 
tance to be printed entire, and we have only fragmentary extracts. Some 
critical commentators have concluded that the admiral was insane at 
this time, for he reasoned that the end of the world would come within 
one hundred and fifty-five years, and that there was nothing left to be 
accomplished exce])t the rescue of the Holy Sepulchre from the infidels 



I06 TIIF. KlU.ICS (1F COLUMBUS. 

Dy ;i crusade iiiulcr the auspices of Queen Isabella, of which he was 
designed by the Almighty ti) be the leader. 

He also wrote a curious conimuiiicatinn to the pope, in which he 
argued that liis sufferings and the loss of his rights and authority were 
the acts of Satan to i)iuiish him for bringing the heathen of the unknown 
lands within the reacli of the Gospel, and to prevent the accomplishment 
of his aspirations to recover the grave of Christ from the Moslems. But 
neitl>er the pope nor the Spanish sovereigns were inclined to entrust the 
enterprise to the control of a cpierulous and dejected old sailor.* 

494. The death of Columbus. 

By (^rtego. 

Original in National Museum, Madrid. 

495. Death of Columbus. 

Original by Robert Fleury. 

Owing to the difficulty in securing animals for the cavalry in Spain, an 
edict had been published by the King forbidding the use of mules in 
traveling, except by royal permission. While Columbus was in Seville, 
shortly before his death, he wished to make a journey to the court, then 
sitting at Granada, to plead his own cause. Cardinal Meiidoza placed 
his litter at the disposal 'of the admiral, but he preferred a mule, and 
wrote tO' Diego asking him to petition the King for the privilege of using 
one. That request was granted in the following curious manner: 

"Hocree granting to Don Christopher Colon permission to ride on a 
mule saddleii and bridled through any jnvrts of these kingdoms. 

" The King: As I am informed that you, Christopher Colon, the Admiral, 
are in poor health, owing to certain diseases which you had or have, and 
that you can not ride on horseback without injury to your health, there- 
fore, conceding this to your adxanced age, I, by these presents, grant you 
license to ride on a nuile, saiklled antl briilled, thri)ugh whatever parts of 
these kingdoms or realms you wish and clux)se, notwithstamling the law 
which I issued thereto; and I connnand the citizens of all parts of these 
kingtloms and realms not to oft'er you any impediment or allow any to 
be offereil to you under penalty of ton thousand maravedi in behalf of 
the treasury, ot \\lu>e\er does the contrary. 

"Given in the city of Toro, February 23, 1605." 
496a. Death of Columbus. 

Original by i^aion W'appers, in London. 

Finally, after many attempts to make a journey he was too weak to 
undertak-e, Columbus started in May, 1505, under the patient and affec- 
tionate care of his brother, Bartholomew, and reached Segovia, where 
the King was living, in the following August; but his reception by Fer- 

♦ The origiual of the letter to the Pope is exhibited in the chapel, No. 937. 



V 



m 



THK LAST DAYS OF COLUMBUS. 



107 



496b. 



497- 



dinand only increased his mortification and distress. His personal appli- 
cation for redress was ciuite as ineffective as his letters, and he sank in 
despair. On tlie 2M\ of August he made his will, which is a very long 
and conipreiiensivc document, and then from his bed renewed his written 
appeals, not for himself, as he realized that his days were numbered, but 
in behalf of his son. He begged King Ferdinand to bestow upon Diego 
the honors he had won, and restore to him the rights and authority of 
which he had been deprived.* 
Death of Columbus. 

By Carlos Lira. Original in Musco de Hellas Artes, Santiago, burned 
in 1892. 

On May 20, 1506, Columbus died, after partaking of the Holy Sacra- 
ment and uttering the words: "Into Thy hands, Oh, Lord, I commit my 
spirit." 
House in which Columbus died. 




The house at Valla- 
dolid, Spain, in which 
Columbus died May 20, 
1506, is still standing, 
and is visited by multi- 
tudes of tourists. At the 
time of his death it was 
an inn. His brother, 
Bartholomew, was with 
him. In none of the 
chronicles of the time, and they are immerous, is there any allusion to 
the event. It was not until nearly a month after that the fact was 
of^cially recorded, and then in the briefest and most indifferent manner. 
On the back of one of his belated appeals to the King some clerk 

* The oritjinal inanu8crii)t of the will and the letter to King Ferdinand are extiibited 
in the cliapel, Nos. 935 and 949. 



io8 



THE RELICS OF COLUMBUS. 



wrote " The within admiral is dead." The house is a plain structure, 
at No. 2 Calle Ancha de Magdalena, its most noteworthy feature, until 
recently, being a sign over the door announcing the sale within of Lechc 
tic burros y I'liiaa — cows' and asses' milk. 

498. Chapel of the Convent of Cartuja, in which Columbus was buried. 




499. 



'I'he biographies of Columbus usually state that King Ferdinand 
ordered the removal of the remains of Columbus to Seville innnediately 
after his dcatii, and oierled a monument ])caiing tlie inscription; 
" A CasliUa y a Leon, 
Nuevo Muiulo iX\o CoUm." 
[To Castile and Leon, Columbus gave a new worlii.) 
This statement did not appear in print for eight years after, anil if 
the will of Diego can be accepted as testimony, the remains of Columbus 
were removetl three years after his death to the vault of the Carthusian 
Monastery of Las Cuevas, near Seville, by members of his own family, 
who erected the monument without the aid or k.nt)wledge of the King. 
His remains were first deposited in the Convent of San Francisco, 
Valladolid, and subsequently removed to Seville in 1613, whence, about 
the year 1541, they were taken to Santo Domingo. 
Cathedral of Santo Domingo. 

In ir>!37, upon tlie application of Dona Maria de Tolotlo, the widow of 
Diego Columbus, a roval order was issued permitting tlie renuival of the 



Till': LAST DAYS OF COLUMBUS. lOQ 

body of Columbus to Santo Domingo, but for some reason it was not 
carried out, and three separate orders to the same effect were granted to 
Dona Maria between 1537 and 1541. In the latter year her efforts appear 
to have been successful, although some historians hold that the removal 
did not take place until nine years later, upon the completion of the 
great Cathedral at Santo Domirtgo. The records of that city throw no 
light upon the controversy, for it was not until 1676 that an entry was 
made in canonical books of the Cathedral concerning the re-entombment 
of the remains. It is said, however, that when the city was sacked by 
Sir Francis Ilrakc, the British freebooter, in 1585, the archives of the 
Cathedral were destroyed. 

When the treaty of Basle, in 1795, transferred the colony of Santo 
Domingo from the Spaniards to the French, the Duke of Veragua, who 
had inherited the titles and estates of the admiral, obtamed permission 
to transport the remains to Havana, in order that they might remain on 
Spanish -soil. With great solemnity and ceremony, what was believed 
to be the coffin of Christopher Columbus was removed from the 
presbytery o£ the Santo Domingo Cathedral, and, attended by a splendid 
retinue of ecclesiastic and civil dignitaries, with a fleet of the Spanish 
Navy, was carried to Havana and there imbedded in the walls of the 
Cathedral to the left of the altar. 

500. Cathedral at Havana. 

501. Altar of the Cathedral at Havana. 

502. Crystal locket containing some of the dust of Columbus, 

In 1877 when the coffin was found which, from the inscriptions, was 
believed to contain the remains of Columbus, Senor J. M. Castillo, who 
was assisting in the work, took out a pinch of the dust, a portion of 
which he gave to the present owner, Mrs. K. P. Sargent, New York city. 

503. Photograph of the urn at Genoa containing some of the dust of 

Columbus. 

A jiinch of the dust was also sent to the mayor of Genoa, his birth- 
place, where it has since been jireserved in a beautiful case. 

504. Photograph of a crystal case at the University of Pavia, Italy, con- 

taining a pinch of the dust of Columbus. 

The archbishop also sent a pinch of the dust to the University of 
Pavia, where Columbus is alleged to have been educated. It is there 
preserved in a crystal case. 

505. Piece of altar rail, Santo Domingo. 

Piece of mahogany altar rail, from old church in Santo Domingo. 
Loaned by the president of Georgetown University, Washington, D. C. 
^the Rev. J. Haven Richards, S. J. 



no 



THK RKLICS OF COLUMBUS. 




506. Interior of the Cathedral, Santo Domingo. 

Showing location of high altar and Columbus burial vault. 

The bones of Columbus are said to be deposited in the wall at the left. 



On the 14th of 
May, 1877, while 
the Cathedral at 
Santo Domingo 
was being re- 
stored, some 
workmen d i s- 
covered, on tlio 
Epistle side of 
the altar, a nio- 
tallic box. The 
archbishop was 
at once notified. 



rff 







''*^'»<SC^>. 



.t^ 



Intorior of the Santo 
Domingo Cathedral. 



and he directed the box to be removed, in the presence of a number of 
officials. It was found to bear an inscrijition in Spanish which reads: 
"The Admiral Don Luis Colon, Duke of Veragua, Marquis of Jamaica." 
The discovery caused groat excitement. On the opposite or Gospel side 
of the altar two more crypts were disclosed. One was empty, from which 
the cot^n transported to Havana was taken. The other contained a 



THE LAST DAYS OF COLUMBUS. 



Ill 



SOI- 



metallic box similar to that in which the remains of Luis Columbus were 
found. Within it were a quantity of dust, a number of bones, a portion 
'^f a skull, a leaden ball, and a silver plate about two inches long. It 
was supposed that these were the remains of Christopher Columbus, 
because of certain inscriptions on tiic l')ox. 
Tomb of Columbus and steps to the presbytery. 




508. Fac-simile of the box in which the remains of Columbus were found. 




TI1I<: KELICS OF COLUMHUS. 



The box was of lead, about a ()uarler of an inch thick. It was eight- 
een inches long, anil about nine inches wide and ten inches deep. On 
the front and on one end was the letter "C"; on the other end the 
letter "A," which were supposed to signify "Cristoval Colon, Admiral." 

On the top of the lid were the letters "D. de la A. Per A." interpreted 
"Descubridor de la America Primer Almirautc " (Discoverer of America, 
the first Admiral). 

On the under side of the lid was written in German text, "Ylletrc Y 
Esdo Varon, Dr. Cristoval Colon" (Illustrious and renowned man, Don 
Christopher Columbus). 

On one side of a silver plate, which appeared at one time to have been 
screwed or bolted to the inside of the box, was inscribed "V Cristoval 
Colon," which is supposed to mean "Urna Cristoval Colon" (The coffin 
of Christopher Columbus). 

- On the other side of the plate were the words: "Ua pte de los rtos del 
pmer Alte D. Cristoval Colon D." which are deciphered to be " Urna per- 
teneciente de los restos del primer y\lmirantc Don Cristoval Colon Des- 
cubridor," or in English, "Urn belonging to the remains of the first Ad- 
miral, Christopher Columbus, Discoverer." 

Photographs of the bones of Columbus in the leaden casket that 
encloses them in this Cathedral of Santo Domingo. 

Fac-simile of the casket in which the dust of Columbus rests. 

The finest dust was carefully 
gathered up and placed in a 
little casket of gold and crystal, 
such as is used by ladies to 
keep their jewels in, and placed 
back in the lead chest. The 
latter was sealed and then en- 
closed in an octagonal case ol 
satin-wood with gdass panels, 
which was secured with three 
locks to which the Minister of 
Public Works, the archbishop 
and the governor of the city 
have the keys. The case was The coffin of Columbus, 

further protected by broad bands of white ribbon, sealed with wax, and 
stamped with the official seals of the three officials named, so that it 
may not be opened without the consent and presence of all of them. It 
was then placed in a vault at the left of the altar. 

Once each year, on the 10th of September, the precious casket is 



'ig^BHHML^Mi^nE.Jl' ' 


•;:"-; :,. 


pH 


m ^f^Wwl 




Bk r 1 


r /^^£ 






^^^ 


mm 


^ 


1 







THE LAST DAYS OV COLUMBUS. 



113 



exposed to public view in the presence of the officials of the govern- 
ment, and the public, when high mass is celebrated by the archbishop 
for the repose of the soul of the great discoverer 

510b. Fac-simile of the "Urna" enclosing the casket of Columbus. 

The people of 
Havana and of 
Spain still insist 
that the genuine 
remains of Co- 
1 u m b u s were 
transported to 
the former city 
in 1795, and a 
very earnest 
controversy has 
been continued 
from 1877 to the 
present day. 
Several vol- 
umes have been 
written on the 




Leaden chest and casket containing Uolumbus' dust. 



subject, the most important of which is a report of the Royal Academy 
of History at Madrid, which, at the request of the late King of Spain 
and the people of Havana, made an investigation, and decided in favor 
of the claims of the Cuban capital. The whole question rests upon the 
integrity of the inscriptions on the casket that was found in 1877. If 
they are genuine the Cathedral of Santo Domingo contains the bones of 
Columbus. 

511. Replica of doors that guard the cell in which are held the alleged 

remains of Columbus, Cathedral of Santo Domingo. 

These doors of wood, with panels reproduced in plaster, are exact 
duplicationsof those in the chapel of Bastides, now containing the casket 
discovered in 1877, said to hold the ashes of Columbus. The panels are 
beautiful examples of wood-carving of the sixteenth century, and should 
be valued for their artistic excellence as well as their historic associa- 
tions. The chapel is at the left of the high altar, on the side opposite to 
the bovcdas, or vaults, in which the illustrious remains reposed three 
hundred and fifty years. 

512. Portrait of Bartholomew Columbus. 

By Leopold Flameng. 

Bartholomew, the brother of Christopher Columbus, went to Portugal 



114 



TlIK KKI.ICS OK COLUMBUS. 





some years Ijcfore Christoplicr appeared there, and made his hving sell- 
ing books and charts, lie visited France and England in the interest 
of his brother's project, and was closely identified with his career. He 
was afterward made adclantatlo of Hispaniola, and died in 1514. 



513. Autograph of Bartholomew Columbus 
written in 1508. 



514. Portrait of Diego, brother of Christopher Columbus. 

Diego Colnmbus accompanied his brotlier Christopher on his second 
voyage, was jdaced in command of Isabella, tlic first colony established 
in the New World, and carried back to Spain the first cargo of slaves. 

515. Autograph of Don Diego Columbus, 

brother of Columbus, written in 1508. 

516. Portrait of Diego Columbus as a boy. 

The estates, titles and dignities of Columbus were inherited by his son 
Diego, wiio was bom at Lislxm or Madeira about 14T5. When the 
admiral was about to sail on his first voyage, Queen Isabella made 
Diego a page at court, and although his father intended him for the 
priesthood, he remained in the retinue of the sovereigns, leading a use- 
less and dissolute life. Columbus had a profound fondness for the boy, 
and wrote him long and affectionate letters while he was absent on his 
several voyages, many of which have been preserved. But the frivolities 
of court life seem to ha\e absorbed the attention of Diego, and we find 
his father fre(iuently com[daining of his lack of affection for and neglect 
of himself, as well as his brother Fernando. "You ought to know," 
writes the grieved father, "tliat I have little pleasure now except in a let- 
ter from you." At another time he says: "If you had ten brothers they 
would not be too many. In good and in bad fortune I have never found 
better friends than my own brotliers."* 

517. Autograph of Don Diego Columbus, son of Columbus. 

In his will Columbus made Diego his 
sole heir, but imposed ujion him many 
pious injunctions and obligations. To 
most, if not all of them, he was totally 
indifferent. Aiul, although, while he was 
a courtier in the train of Ferdinand, he 
did little or nothing to secure his father's rights or relieve his distress. 

*The original letters are exhibited in the chapel, Nos. 939 to 948. 




THE LAST DAYS OF COLUMBUS. 



115 



Si8a. 



within twelve days after the death of the admiral we find him importuning 
the King for the official recognition and pecuniary dues which Columbus 
had so long and so persistently appealed, and to which he was entitled by 
inheritance. Ferdinand permitted him to bring a suit which was decided 
in favor of Diego, but it was not until after his marriage with Uona Maria do 
Toledo, a cousin of the King and a member of the most influential family 
at court, that the verdict was satisfied, and then only partially. Ferdi- 
nand awarded him an eighth of the royal revenues from Hispaniola and 
made him governor of that province, but still declined to make him 
viceroy of the Indies, although under the contract made with the sover- 
eigns by Columbus in 1492, he and his heirs were to enjoy that rank and 
its authority forever. 
Ruins of the Palace of Diego Columbus at Santo Domingo. 




In May, 1509, three years after the death of his father, Diego sailed for 
Santo Domingo with his noble wife, his two uncles, Diego and Bartholomew 
Columbus, and the most influential and wealthy party of colonists that up 
to this time had started for the New World. His income at this time was 
very large, and his wife had large properties of her own, which enabled 
them to maintain an establishment such as had never been seen in 
America. 

He erected what was considered a magnificent palace, the ruins of 
which stand opposite Santo Domingo on the Ozama river. It was sus- 
pected that Diego intended to establish an independent government, and 
a council was sent over to restrain him. This council caused the erec- 
tion of earth works across the river, and planted the largest guns that 
could be secured to destroy the palace at the first sign of insubordination 
on his part. Years afterward the fortress fell into ruins, and the guns, 



lift THF. Kin.ICS OF COLUMBUS. 

one by one, tinnhliHl over tlie hank. One of them, after lying three 
hundred and eighty years in the sand, was recovered and brought to 
Chicago. 

518b. The cannon that threatened Diego Columbus. 

519. Autograph letter of Diego Columbus to Charles V, of Spain. 

Hon Diego proved a very incompetent executive and was compelled 
to make many journeys to Spain to explain and defend his official con- 
duct. He apjicars to have prospered financially, for there is evidence 
th;it in l.VJO he advanced Charles V ten thousand golden ducats to defray 
the expenses of a visit to Flanders, and his generosity seemed to have 
been reciprocated by the King, who immediately dismissed all charges 
against the governor and made him viceroy over all the Indies, a recog- 
nition Diego had been demanding fourteen years. But additional rank 
and responsibilities only increased his troubles, and in the midst of an 
investigation that lasted more than two years, death ended his tempestu- 
ous career at Montalvan, Spain, in I'ebruary, 1526. 

Diego was buried beside his father in the Monastery of Las Cuevas, 
near Seville, and the remains of both were removed to the Cathedral of 
Santo Domingo a few years later. It was his bones, instead of those of 
Christopher Columbus, that the people of Santo Domingo claim were 
transported to Havana in 1795. 

Diego Columbus left his widow and seven children, four daughters 
and three sons. Luis, the oldest son, and heir to the dignities of the 
famih, was only five years old. Dona Maria demanded recognition as 
\ice-iiucL-n of the Indies, and regent tluring the minority of Luis, but 
the honor was denieil her and she returned to Spain; where for fourteen 
years she pressetl her claims upon the emperor, becoming so poor that 
she was compelled to sell her jewels and then lived upon the charity of 
I'ernando, the illegitimate brother of her husband. In 1541 she had the 
remains of Christopher and Diego Columbus renu>ved to Santo Domingo, 
where she lived until her death in 1549. 

In his last will and testament, dated at Santo Doniingo city in 1523, 
Diego Columbus writes: 

1, DioKO Colon, Yicoroy, .\diniral and (lovernor perpetmil of these Indies and terra 
firma, discovered and to be disoovi^red, of the ocean sea; lesitimate son of I^on Chris- 
tohal Colon, first Vic(<roy and Adiiiival and Oovernor pepetual of these said Indies 
and terra tirnia; and of Dona Felipa Munoz, his lawful wife, defunct and now in the 
keepiuKof (iod: bein^; inthis city of Santo Domiu^'o, of this island of llispa^iola, in 
my own house, sane, and in my risht mind, etc. 

520. Sixteenth century anchor. 

Ancient aTichor, extremely old type, which had lain in the mud on the 
east bank of the Ozama river ;or centuries, and according to tradition 



THE LAST DAYS OF COLUMBUS. 



117 



was the property of Don Diego Cok)n, son of Columbus. It lay directly 
opposite the house of Colon, and there is no reasonable doubt that it 
once belonged either to Colunil)us or his son. It was obtained by Mr. 
Frederick A. Ober, with the consent of the Minister of War and the 
president of the ayuntamiento, or city council of the city of Santo 
Domingo. 
521. Beatriz Enriquez de Arana, mother of Fernando Columbus. 

After the death of his wife and his arrival in Spain, about 1486, Colum- 
bus fell in love with Beatriz Enriquez, a woman of good family of Cor- 
dova. She was the mother of his son Fernando, and survived him, 
although nothing is known of her whereabouts during the time of his 
attendance at the court of Spain aii<l while he was absent on his voy- 
ages. In his will the admiral directs his son Diego to "take care of 
Beatriz Enriquez, mother of Don Fernando, my son; supply her with all 
that can enable her to live in an honorable manner, she being a person 
to whom I am under such grave obligations; and do this to relieve my 
conscience, because it weighs heavily on my soul." Thai the family of 
Beatriz found no fault with her relations to Columbus, is inferred from 
the fact that her brother commanded (Mie t)f the ships during his third 
voyage. 
522a. House formerly occupied by Fernando Columbus, and tree grown from 
a seed brought by Christopher Columbus from the New World. 
Near the banks of the GuadaUjuivir river, and on the outskirts of the 
city of Seville, Spain, there is a tree marking the jjlace where stood the 
splendid abode of Fernando Columbus. This tree is said to have grown 
from a shrub brought by Christopher Columbus from the New World. 

The mansion was long known as the house of the admiral, although 
there is no evidence that he ever lived in it; but it was occupied by 
Fernando Columbus for many years, and until his death. 
522b. Portrait of Fernando Colon. 
Fernando, or Ferdinand, the 
second son of Columbus, was 
born a])out 1488. We know 
nothing of his early life, but in 
1502, when the admiral sailed 
on his last voyage, he accomi)a- 
nied the expedition. Subse- 
quently he was appointed a 
page at court, where he ap- 
l)ears to have received a good 
education and acquired a liter- 
ary taste. As a member of the 
retinue of Charles V he ap The Columbus tree. SoviUe. 




Il8 THE RELICS OF COLUMBUS. 

pears to have been a favorite with that monarch. Fernando traveled 
extensively in western Europe, and not only learned much by observa- 
tion, but became an ardent collector of books in all languages. Oviedo 
described him as a person of sweet disposition, affable manners and 
nobility of character. 

Although Columbus in his will gave the greater portion of his estates 
to Diego, his legitimate son, King Ferdinand awarded to Fernando a 
considerable amount of land in Santo Domingo, and Charles V gave him 
a generous pension, so that his income was more than $30,000 a year. 
There is no evidence that he ever married or had children, for at his 
death, in 1589, he left all his property, including a very large library, to 
his nephew Luis, the son of Diego Columbus. This library was one of 
the most notal)le collections of books in Europe, and is said to have 
contained twenty thousand volumes, which were mostly obtained between 
1510 and 1537. Nearly every volume in the collection contained a mem- 
orandum giving the date and place of purchase, and affording a clue to 
the extent and direction of his travels. That he was a studious reader is 
shown by the copious annotations made upon the margins. 
523. Autograph of Fernando Columbus. 

Don Luis Columbus, who was in Santo 
Domingo at the time, appears to have 

cared nothing for the books. He allowed 'V^^^^s^ doU&^~n^ 
them to pass into the control of the monks yK\ do toCc 

attached to the Cathedral at Seville, and LX' v-^ 

by royal conunand certain manuscripts 
■ in the collection were placed in the 

national aiciiivos of Spain. Although Fernando left a legacy for the 
care and increase of the library, the funds appear to have been diverted 
to other uses, and the precious volumes were neglected until 1832, when 
it was found that the principal of the legacy had entirely disappeared, 
and two-thirds of the collection was missing. It was not until 1885, 
when Henry Harrisse, the famous Columbian scholar, called public 
attention to the outrage, that the Spanish government ordered the 
library repaired and catalogued, and placed in proper shelter and cus- 
tody at Seville. There is a catalogue of the collection in the hand- 
writing of the owner, which shows that it was of inestimable value. It 
appears, also, that it contained a manuscript work on the New World by 
P\'rnando himself, but it has disappeared, with many other priceless 
manuscripts and printed volumes. 

Fernando Columlnis is buried in the Cathedral at Seville, and the 
resting place of his bones is covered by a tablet bearing an inscription, 
of which the following is a translation: "Here rests the most magnifi- 





THE LAST DAYS OF COLUMBUS. 



iig 



cent Senor Don Fernando Colon, who applied and spent all his life and 
estate in adding to the letters, and collecting and perpetuating in this 
city all his books, of all the sciences which he found in his time, and in 
reducing them to four books. He died in this city,"on the 12th of July, 
1539, at the age of fifty years, nine months and fourteen days. He was 
son of the valiant and inemora])le .Senor Don Christoi.her Colon, the first 
admiral, who discovered the Indies and the New World, in the lifetime 
of their Catholic Majesties, Don Fernando and Dona Isabel, of glorious 
memory, on the 11th of October, 1492, with three galleys and ninety people, 
having, sailed from the port of Palos on his discovery on the 3d of 
August previous, and returned to Castile, with victory, on the 7th of 
May of the following year. He returned afterward twice to people that 
which he had discovered. He died in \'alladolid, on the 20th of August 
1506, aged— ' 

" Entreat the Lord for them." 

Beneath this is described, in a circle, a globe, presenting the western 
and part of the eastern hemispheres, surrounded by a pair of compasses. 
Within the border of the circle is inscribed: 
"A Castilla y i Leon, 
Mundo Nuevo did Colon." 

524. Portrait of Don Luis Columbus 

Luis left several illegitimate children, but 
the courts decided that the daughters of his 
first wife were his lawful heirs. One of 
them was a nun; the othe^, Felipa, claimed 
the pension, titles and estates, but her 
claims were contested by Diego II, a son of 
her uncle Cristoval. Before the courts 
could adjudicate their claims, the cousin 
settled the dispute by marriage. They 
shared the honors but a few years, and died 
childless, so that the male line of Columbus 
became extinct seventy years after his 
death. ' 

Don Luis Colon. 
525. Portrait of Don Pedro Colon. 

Don Pedro Colon de Toledo Baquedano Larreategui y Quinones, sen- 
ator of the Kingdom, knight of the Golden Fleece, grand cross of Charles 
HI, and of Isabella the Catholic, and grand officer of the Legion of Honor, 
was the father of the present Duke de Veragua. 

The inscription on the portrait, translated, reads : Most Excellent and 
Most Illustrious Senor Don Pedro Colon de Toledo Larriategui y An- 
gulo. Knight of the Order of Alcantara, Dean, Governor of the Council 
and Chamber, sixth grandson in direct line of the first admiral of the 
Indies, Don Christopher Colon, and successor to his house and estates 




120 



THE RELICS OF COLUMBUS. 




Then followed a famous lawsuit which 
lasted a third of a century and involved 
eight contestants, including the descend- 
ants of Bartholomew, the brother of 
Christopher, and those of his father's 
brother. Among the other claimants 
was Francesca, the oldest daughter of 
Diego I, to whose family the estates and titles were awarded five gener- 
ations later, but the courts decided in favor of Alvarode Portugal, Count 
of Gelves, a son of Isabella, the sister of Luis. He died, however, before 
the termination of the suit, and his heir, Jorge Alberto, died also, so that 
the younger son, Nuno de Portugal, inherited the honors and became 
Duke of Veragua. From him the title descended to his son Alvaro 
Jacinto, then to his grandson Pedro Nuno, next to Pedro Manual, and 
finally to Pedro Nuno who died in 1733, and the male line of descent 
again became extinct. Then occurred another long and notable contest 
in the courts, which in 1790 reversed the decree of 1664, and the titles 
returned again to the family of Drego I, and the great-great-grandson of 
Francesca, his elder sister, was declared Duke of Veragua. 

526. Genealogy of the Columbus family to the present day. 

I. Don Diego Colon was the 
eldest Bon of the Admiral Cristobal 
Colon, to whom all rights of succes- 
sion were transmitted. 

IL Don Luis Colon de Toledo, 
son of Diego Colon, was the first Duke 
of Veragua. This title was conferred 
upon him in 1537 by Charles V, when 
he surrendered all the claims of the 
family against the Spanish Crown, 
under the contract made between 
Columbus and Ferdinand and Isa- 
bella. 

III. The male line having be- 
come extinct by the death of Don 
Luis (^olon, the title descended to 
Don Alvaro de Portugal y Toledo, the 
son of Dona Isabel Colon and Don\ 
Jorge de Portugal, Count of Gelves. 

IV. Don Nuuo Colon de Portu- 
gal was the third Duke of Veragua. 

V. Don Alvaro Jaciuto Colon de 
Portugal. 

VI. Don Pedro Nuno Colon de 
Purtugal y Castro. This descendant 




Donna Inez Colon. 



THE LAST DAYS OF COLUMBUS. 



121 




added to the titles of the family those of Count of Gelves and Marquis de Villanizar. 
He was Captain General of the Navy and President of the Royal ("ourt of New Spain, 
and was decorated with the Golden Fleece. 

VII. Don Pedro Manuel Colon de Port- 
ugal y de la Cueva. He was Mfestro de 
Campo of the Spanish States in Belgium ; 
General in the Army at Cataluna ; Gov- 
ernor and Captain General of Galicia and 
Viceroy of Sicily. 

VIII. Don Pedro Manuel Colon de 
Portugal y de Ayala, who added to ihe fam- 
ily titles tliose of Marquis of la Mota and 
San Leonardo, Count of San Leonardo of 
Ayala and of Villalonso. He was Viceroy 
of Navarra and Cerdena, Dean of tlie 
Council of War, Secretary of State and 
Secretary of the Navy to Philip V. 

IX. Dofia Catalina Ventura ("olon. de 
Portugal y Ayala, who married the Duke Ijjj 
of Uerwick and Liria, Don Jacobo Fitz- 
James St uart. 

X. Don .Jacobo Francisco Eduardo 
Fitz-James Stuart y C'olon de Portugal, _ 

who was Duke of Veragua, Liria, Jerica Mother of the Duke of Veraguaas a Sister 
and Berwick, Count of Gelves, Finmouth of the Sacred Heart, 

and Ayala. 

XL - Don Mariano Colon de Toledo, Larreategui y Jimenez de Embrion, was de- 
clared Duke of Veragua by judgment of court in las favor and against Don Carlos 
Fernando Fitz-James Stuart in 17it3, as the latter was descendant of Dofia Isabel 
Colon, the youngest of the daughters of Don Luis, the first Duke of Veragua, while 
the right descendants were those of the second ~ 

son, of Don Luis Colon. Don Mariano Colon was 
a member of the Council of ('astile and president 
of the Council of Finances, and had the decora- 
tions of Charles III and of Isabella the Catholic. 

XII. Don Pedro Colon de Toledo y Larrea- 
tegui Romirez de Baciuedano y Vigil de Qni- 
fiones, of the House of Lords, decorated with tlie 
(iolden Fleece and with the Cross of Charles 
III and Isabella the Catholic. Also grand of- 
ficer of the Legion of Honor from France, and 
was the father of the present Duke. 

XIII. Don Cristobal Colon de Toledo y Lar- 
reategui de la Cerda, Remirez de Baquedano y 
(irand, Admiral y Adelantado, Mayor of tlio 
Indies, Duke of Veragua and de la Vega and Mar- 
quis of Jamaica, He lias tlie Order of the Golden 
Fleece and of Charles the III ; also of the con- 
ception from Villaviciosa of Portugal. He is a 
senator (by his own right) of the kingdom, lias 
been Secretary of the Interior (Fomonto), and is 
a member of the C'ouncil of Agriculture, Indus- 
try and Commerce, as well as ijresident of the 
Society for Protection to Children. 




D(m Mariano O)lon. 



122 



THE RELICS OF COLUMBUS. 



527. Dona Catalina de la Cerda. 

528. Dona Ana Mendoza de la Cerda. 

529. Mother of the Duke of Veragua as a sister of the Sacred Heart. 

530. Portrait of the great-great-grandmother of the Duke of Veragua, Dona 

Guillerma Remirez de Baquedano. 

531. Decree of the King conferring certain titles upon Luis, grandson of 

Columbus, in exchange for which the latter forfeited all claims upon 

the sovereigns of Spain. 

Luis Columbus inherited all the vices of Diego, his father, and they 
developed early in his life. During his minority Santo Domingo was 
governed by the Council or Audiencia, and when he became of age he 
surrendered all his claims upon the Crown of Spain for an annual pen- 
sion of ten thousand ducats, an estate twenty-five leagues square, and 
the following group of titles: "Duke of Veragua (Honduras), Marquis of 
Jamaica, Grand Admiral of the Indies, Mayor Adelantado of the other 
Colonies, and a Grandee of Spain of the first class." He then returned 
with his mother to Santo Domingo as Captain General, with an Audi- 
encia to guide his official acts, and spent sometime in Honduras, but he 
never attempted to exercise the duties of his office, and in 1556 he was 
deprived of several of his titles, and had his pension cut down to seven 
thousand ducats. His life was scandalous, and in 1558 he was arrested 
for having three wives. He v/as con- 
victed, spent five years ii* prison, and 
was then banished to Africa, where 
he died in 1572. 

532. Autograph of Don Luis Columbus. 

533- Portrait of Dona Inez Colon, grand- 
mother of the Duke of Veragua. 

534. Portrait of Don Mariano Colon. 

Don Mariano Colon de Toledo y 
Larreategui Jimenez de Embrion, of 
the Council of Castile, President of 
Hacienda and with honors of the State, 
pleaded against the house of Liria and 
inherited, by a judgment against that 
house, the titles of Veragua. He ob- 
tained the grand cross of Carlos III, 
and of Isabella the Catholic. 

Grandmother of the Duke of Veragua. 




THE LAST DAYS OF COLUMBUS. 



123 




Duke of Veragua. 



124 



THE RELICS OF COLUMBUS. 




535. Portrait of the father of the 

Duke of Veragua 

In the existing family the 
blood of Columbus mingles 
with that of the Basques, the 
hardiest race in Spain, from a 
province that has produced 
the best stock in the King- 
dom, and is gifted with enter- 
prise, industry and genius. 
They have been prominent in 
commercial, social and politi- 
cal affairs, active in philan- 
thropy, and prominent in 
every great national under- 
taking. 

Father of the Duke of Veragua. 

536. Portrait of the mother of the Duke of Veragua. 

537a. Portraits of the Duchess of Veragua and her children, Don Cristoval 

and Dofla Maria del Pilar Colon. "» 

537b. Portrait of Don Cristobal Colon de la Cerda, present Duke of Veragua. 
Direct descendant of Columbus in the 

thirteenth generation. 

Don Cristobal Colon de la Cerda, 

Duke of Veragua, Marquis of Jamaica, 

Adelantado Mayor of the Indies, the 

living representative of Columbus in 

Spain, was born June 8, 1837, in Madrid. 

He was educated at the Central Univer- 
sity, Madrid, where he received the 

decree of Doctor of Civil and Canonical 

Laws. He has been a member of the 

Senate and House of Representatives of 

Spain, has been Minister of Public Works, 

and held other positions in the Ministry, 

and is a gentleman of great learning and 

influence. He lives in a beautiful palace 

in Calle de Mateo, Madrid, and possesses 

a library and art collection that are Mother of the Duke of Veragua. 

famous all over Europe. He has large estates near Toledo, where 

he raises fighting bulls, which are most popular in the bull-rings of 




THE LAST DAYS OF COLUMBUS. 



125 




Spain. He has a son, Don Cristoval Colon de la Cerda y Aguilera, who 
was born in 1878, and will succeed to his titles and estates. 

538a. Fernando Colon, Marquis de Barboles, brother of the Duke of Veragua. 

538b. Portrait of the Marquesa de Barboles. 

539, Residence of the Duke of Veragua, Madrid, Spain. 

The residence of the 

Duke of Veragua is one 

of the finest palaces in 

the city of Madrid, and is 

furnished in the most 

sumptuous manner. The 

duke also has a large 
estate near the city of Toledo, on 
which is his stock farm for the raising 
of bulls for the ring. 

540. Grand stairway in the residence of 

Duke of Veragua, Madrid, Spain. 

A friend of the Duke of Veragua 
furnishes the following sketch of his 
character and career : 

He is a person of the most highly finished 
education, by nature distinguished, of refined 
and agreeable manner, of recognized talent 
and extensive knowledge, of liberal ideas 
and of independent character. 

He is one of the most democratic and 
hard-working of the nobilitj', very learned in 
agriculture and stock raising, having suc- 
ceeded in making his stock farm of fighting 
bulls the first in Spain. He is beloved by all 
the social classes, isopular by his tastes and by 
his simplicity. 





He took no notable part in politics until after the revolution of September, 1868, and 
then joined the Radical party, whose chief was Don Manuel Ruis Zorrilla. At this 
timehe was elected deputy in the Cortes for the District of Arevalo, twice in succes- 
sion, and afterward was Vice-President of the House of Deputies. When Don Alfonzo 



126 TllK KKl.lCS OF COLUMBUS. 

XI 1 wjiH i)r<>clHiiiio(l Kiiin, lie was cloctod ddimty for Puerto Rioo, and after the pro- 
mnlKMlion of (lio coMHtiliilion, wliicli lo-day ruhm in Spain, ho took his Boat in tho 
8<Mial(i an a HiMialor iu his own rif,'lit, l)y nMiwoii of his l)i>iuK <iraud(>c< of Spain of tho 
(irwt cliisM, at'cordinK to Ar(ich> \X1 of naid coiiHlitiition. In the Sonatc, aithouKh witii- 
oiit ccasiuK to bo a uu)nat'ohist, ho always votod with tlio Liboral opposition; but ro- 
niainiiiK fn<o from nil jxililical (>nnaKonionts, and pnwrvin^t his lib(>rty of nctiou. On 
tho dissolution of tlio Kadioal party, ho roco>;niz(>d as ohief Don Proxodos Mateo 
SuKasta, and inidor his prosidonoy (aocoptod tho portfolio of tlio Ministry of Foinonto 
(Public Works), an ollioo which li(> tillod satisfactorily from tht> 'Jlst of January to tho 
Mh of .hdy, IWK). 

During his admiiuHtration of tho ministry ho foiindod tho Koyal Huroau of tho Insti- 
tuto and S'.'hools of AKriculturo,l)rouKli( lu>for(» tho I'ortos tho law of S<M'ond)iry 
Hailroads, dictat(>d snilablo rules Uir iUo applications of books and works of art; 
l>roposo<l that thoro should bo s(<t nsid(< a sum for iho restoration of tho Alcazar 
of S(>Ki'viH; and adopted tMun-jtotlc nu»asuros to canso thi> town tiorporations to pay the 
back Halarios of the school touchers. 

lb< sifiiis as his short signature; " Voranua,"' and as his full si),'iuitur(»: 
" Y Chiistol.al Colon do la Corda." 

541. Ancient tapestry in the residence of the Duke of Veragua, showing the 

coat-of-arms of the family. 

542. Autograph letter of Diego Colon to Emperor Charles V, claiming the 

rights granted to his father. 

543. The Grand Duke of Alba, Don Fernando Alvarez de Toledo. 

544. City gate of Santo Domingo. 

545. Facade of the San Telmo Palace of Fernando and Isabella at Seville. 



KKLICS OF COI.UMHUS. 127 



SECTION K. THE RELICS OF COLUMBUS. 



551. The autographs of Columbus.* 

Coliinihus was a very voluminous writer,' niid ninety-seven formal 
documents from his pen cither exist or are known to have existed. He 
may have written many more, for his reputation in this respect was sucli 
as to cause' the court jester of Charles V to say that he and Ptolemy, the 
Egyptian gcoj:;rapher, "were twins in the art of blotting." Another con- 
temporary, Zufiiga, in a letter to the Marquis de Pescara, says: "God 
grant that Gutierrez may never come short for paper, for he writes more 
than Ptolemy, and more than Columbus, who discovered the Indies." 
Of his papers, however, but sixty-four are preserved entire. These con- 
sist of letters descriptive of his plans, and arguments to sustain his 
theories concerning a western passage to the Indies, memorials to the 
court, narratives of his voyage and jiersonal memoirs. Twenty-live 
manuscrijjts, either wholly or in jiart in his own hand, are still preserved 

552. The signature of Columbus.* 

The signature or ruhrir of Cohunbus which apjicars at the close of all 
of his communications, as the sign of the cross appears at the beginning, 
has never been satisfactorily interpreted. It was the custom in his time 
for men of importance to adojjt sign manuals of a singular sort, as they 
adopted mottoes for their escutcheons, which had some apparent or con- 
cealed significance. The signs u.sed by Columbus 

S. 
S. A. S. 
X. M. Y. 
Xpo Ferens. 
are generally interpreted to mean "Servus .Suplex Altissimi .Salvatoris 
Christus Maria Yosef," which in English reads, "The humble servant of 
Christ, the Supreme Saviour, Mary and Joseph, Christ-bearer." Others 
render it in Spanish, "Servidor sus altezas, Sacras Christo Maria Ysabel," 
which means "I am the servant of the three Highnesses, the Sacred 
Christ, Mary and Lsabella, Christ-bearer." The last line was often written 
by Columbus "Christo Ferens," and several signatures appear without it, 
and "El Almirante" (the Admiral) instead. These were written after his 
appointment as admiral in the Spanish navy. The most jilausible 
rendering of the signs seems to be, Salvo Sanctum Sujuilcrum 
Xriste Maria Yesus Xristo Ferens. 

♦See autograph letters exhibited in the chapel. 



128 THE KELICS OF COLUMBUS. 

553. Autograph letter of Columbus to the Catholic Kings. 




Letter of Cristobal Colon to the Catholic Kings, setting forth some 
observations on the art of navigation, Granada, February 6, 1504. 

Most High and Mighty Kings and Lohds: 

I desire to be the cause of pleasure and entertainment to Your Highnesses, and not 
of pain and digust; but since the pleasure and delight attach to now things of any in- 
terest, I shall speak of each in compliance with your commands as they come to my 
memory ; and assuredly they will not be judged by their carelessness of expression, but 
by my good intentions and desires, that in all things I may be of service to Your High- 
nesses to state only that which has occurred to myself ; and although my strength fail 
me and my fatigue overpower me, my will, as the most obliged and indebted of per- 
sons, shall not be wanting in my soul. 

Navigators and others who trade by sea always have a superior knowledge of par- 
ticular parts of the world in which they move and have common intercourse, and for 
this reason each one of them i^ better informed concerning that which he sees daily 
than any others who may go thither from year to year; and for this reason we receive 
with pleasure the relations which they themselves make of what they have seen and 
gathered, as certainly we gain mobt perfect instruction from that which we learn by 
our own experience. 

If we consider the world spherical, as many writers'have declared it their opinion to 
be, or science causes us to believe otherwise on its authority, it must not be supposed 
that the temperature is equal in any parallel, since its diversity is as great on the sea as 
on the land. 

The sun diffuses its influence and the earth receives it according to the concave 
surfaces on mountains which are framed in ii, and even the ancients have written 
enough on this subject, as Pliny also, who says that under the north (see Note 1) the 



RELICS OF COLUMBUS. I29 

temperature is so mild that the people who live there neve*- die except from vexation 
and disgust with life, and that tliey suffocate and destroy themselves. 

Here in Spain we find a variety of temperature so great that there is no need of testi- 
mony from an early age of the world. We see here in Granada the mountains covered 
with snow all the year around, an evidence of great cold, while at the foot of the Fame 
mountain chain are the Alpujarras, where tlie temperature is always mild, without 
excessive heat or cold; and as it is in this province, so it is among otliers in Spain 
which it would be prolixity to name. I say that on the sea the same thing happens, 
especially in proximity with the land, and this is better known to those who constantly 
trade there thap to those who trade in other regions. 

In the summer, and certainly in Andalusia, every day the sun is high, and the land 
and sea breezes blow alternately, and that which comes from tlie west is soft wind and 
lasts till evening, and in the same manner that this wind holds sometime in this region 
so other winds blow in other parts and regions in summer and in winter. Those who 
constantly go from Cadiz to Naples know already that when they pass the coast of 
Catalonia what wind they will find there, according to the season, and also those who 
go to the Gulf of Narbonne. Those who wish to go from Cadiz to Naples, if it be 
winter time, go in siglit of the Cape of Creo, in Catalonia, by the Gulf of Narbonne. 
Tliere the wind is very troublesome, and sometimes vessels must yield and are obliged 
to run before it as far as Berueria, and for this reason they oftener go to Capo Creo to 
keep close to the wind and reach the shelter of the Pomegas of Marsella, or the Islands 
of Eros, aad never leave the coast un'il they arrive at their destination. If they have 
to go from Cadiz to Naples in the summer time, they sail by the coast of Berueria as far 
as Cerdena, or in the same manner as has been said of the other north coast. Some men 
are designated from their voyages, who have so often made them that they know well 
these routes and the changes of wind which may bo expected according to the season of 
the year in which they are. Commonly to these men is given the name of the greater 
pilots, as on the land to the commander of an army; so much so that one who knows 
perfectly the road takes his command to Fontarabia would not know it from hereto 
Liberia. Tlie same upon tlie sea; some are pilots of Flanders and others of the Levant, 
and of the country he most frequents. 

The trade and travel from Spain t o Flanders is greatly prosecuted, and great mariners 
are engaged in it,. In Flanders in the month of January all the ships are despatched to 
return to their countries, and in this month it rarely liappens that there is not a stretch 
of wind either from tlie northeast or north-nurtlieast. Thcsa winds at this time of year 
do not blow gently, but strong and cold, and iire even dangerous; tlie distances from 
the land and the character of the earth are the cause which occasion this. These winds 
are not steady, even though the weather may not liavo this fault; thf)se who sail with 
them are persons who take their chances, and most often arrive with their hands in 
their hair. If the easterly breeze fail them and, nay, other wind blow hard, they must 
make the ports of Franco or England until another tide allows them to leave those 
ports. 

Sea-faring men are covetous of money and eager to return to their homes, and 
venture everything without waiting for the weather to settle. A it was in my chamber 
on another occasion, I shall inform Yojr Highnesses of what is but for the security of 
this navigation, which should be undertaken when the sun is in Taurus, and be aban- 
doned in the heaviest and most dangerous ssason of the winter. If the winds favor the 
crossing is very slack; no departure should bo made until the voyage seems assured, and 
this can be best judged of when the sky is very clear and the wind blows from the north 
star and holds north always rather stiffly- Your Highnesses know well what happened 
the year ninety-seven, when thfy suffered so in Riirgos from t!ie duration of the severe 
weather and the wind which followed, to escape which they went so Soria; and all the 



130 THE RELICS OF COLUMBUS. 

court having left on Saturday, Your Ilighnosses remained to leave on Monday, and that 
to a courier sent to mo tliaf uigUt I roplieil iu a writteu unnvver, whicli I sent to Your 
HiKhncMHi's that day, that the wind woukl begin to blow the noxt day, that the fleet 
ought not to sail, but to liold on until the wind Ktiengtli?ned, and Rh<)uld leave on 
Monday, and tliat on Thursday it wouhl bo as far as the Island of Huict, and if it did 
not put in there it would ho in Larodo the naxt Monday, or else the seienco of naviga- 
tion was lost. This writing of mine, with the desire to await the arrival of the Prin- 
cess, induced Yocr Higlincsscs to chan^^e their intentions not to go to Soria, and to test 
the judgment of the Failor; and on Monday a ship appeared off Laredo, which did not 
go into Hnict because it holds but few ships. [See Note 2.] 

There are many oi)inions, and tiiere always have been on land and sea, as to the 
course to bo pursued in similar cases, and to-day there are iiiauy other discovered 
islands; and if that route is already known, thoso who liave to trade back and forth there, 
■witli the jierfection of ii'struments and construction of slxips, will have a better knowl- 
edge of tho land and winds and seasons mo3t favorable to take advantage of, and have 
hope for tho security of their lives. 

May tho Holy Trinity defend Your Ilighnessos, for we have desire and need to keep 
Your Ilighneeses with all their greet estates and lords liij s. 

From Granada, tlio sixth of February, fifteen hundred and two. 

.S. 

S. A. S. 

X. M. Y. 

Xpo FEREN8. 

554. Photograph from the original letter of Columbus to the Bank of St. 
George, preserved in the Municipal Palace, Genoa. 

Before starting upon his fourth and last voyage, in the spring of 1502, 
infirm in health and with impaired confidence in his sovereigns and the 
Council of the .Indies, which had treated hjm so shamefully, Columbus 
sent copies of all his important papers to Genoa, his birthplace and the 
home of his family. He entrusted all his contracts, privileges and com- 
missions to Nicolo de Oderigo, the Genoese Ambassador to the Spanish 
Court, to be deposited in trust with the Bank of St. George, which was to 
the commercial world in those <lays what the Bank of England is to-day. 
He addressed to the governors of that bank the following letter: 
IIkui, Noble Lords: 

AHhougli tho body walks about here, the heart is constantly over there. Our Lord 
conferred upon me the greatest favor ever granted to any since David. Tho results of 
my undertaking already appear, anil would shino greatly were they not concealed by 
the blindness of tlie government. I am going to tho Indies again under the auspices 
of the Trinity, soon to return; and since I am mortal, 1 leave it witli my son Diego that 
you receive every year, forever, one-tenth of tho entire 'rovcnvie, such as it may be, for 
tho purpose of reducing the tax upon corn, wine and other provitions. If that tenth 
amounts to something collect it. If not, at least take the will for tlie deed. 1 beg you 
to entertain regard for the son I have recommended to you. Mr. Nicolo de Oderigo 
knows more about my own ailairs than I do myself, and 1 liave sent by him the tran- 
scripts of my privileges and letters for safekeeping. I should be glad if yoa would 
keep them. My lords, th(» King and Queen, endeavored to iionoT more tlian ever. May 
tho Holy Trinity preserve you noblo persons and increase the most magnificent House 
(of St. George). 



RELICS OF COLUMBUS. I3I 

Done in Seville on the second day of April, 1502. The Chief Admiral of the Ocean, 
Viceroy and Governor-tTeneral of the islands and continents of Asia and the 
Indies, of my lords the King and Queen, their Captain-General of the Sea, and 
of their Councils. 

S. 

S. A. S. 

X. M. Y. 

Xpo FERENS. 

555. Enlarged fac-simile of the letter of Columbus to the Bank of St. 

George. 

556. Photograph of the original letter of Columbus to Nicolo Oderigo, 

Genoese Ambassador to the Court of Spain. 

Original preserved in the Municipal Palace, Genoa, dated March 21, 
1502. 

The letter to Nicolo Oderigo was as follows: 

Sir : The solicitude in which you have left us can not bo described. I gave Micer 
Francis do Ribarol the book containing my deeds (or grants, or concessions) and also 
copies of the letters and messages sent to me; and I pray you, as a great favor to mo, to 
write to Don Diego and inform him of the place in which you keep those documents, 
and the use you make of them. A duplicate of all of them will be made, and sent to 
you in the same way and through the same channel of Francisco. You will find 
there a now concession. Their Highnesses i)romiso therein, as you will see, to give mo 
all that belon.';s to me, and put Don Diego in possossion thereof. I have written to 
Micer Juan Luys, and to Madam Madona Catalina the letter I enclose. I shall start out, 
in the name of the Most Holy Trinity, witli a good equipment, at the first moment of 
good weather. If Jerome de Santi Esteban comes, he must wait for me, and not to 
commit himself to anything; bf^cause they will try to get out of him all that they can, 
and afterward they will leave him in the cold. Let him come here, and the King and 
Queen will entertain him until I come. 

May our Lord keep you in His holy guard. 

I am for what yon may ortlor. 

Your servant, 
X. M. Y. 
Xpo FERENS. 

Done on the 2lRt of March, at Seville, 1502. 

557. Photograph of the original letter of Columbus to Nicolo Oderigo, 

Genoese Ambassador to the Court of Spain, dated December 27, 
1504. 

Original preserved in the Municipal Palace, Genoa. 

In 1504, after his return from his last voyage, having heard nothing 
from the bank or from Oderigo about these documents, he writes the fol- 
lowing indignant letter: 

Virtuous Sir : When I started on my voyage to the places from where I have just 
come, I spoke at length with you. 1 understand that you remember well all that then 
was said. 



132 THE RELICS OF COLUMBUS. 

When returning here, I was in hopes to find some letters from you, or some messenger 
who vould tell me verbally something in your name. 

At about the same time of my departure from here, I sent to you by Francisco de 
Kibarol, a book containing copies of several letters, and another in which all the grants 
and privileges given me were also copied, the whole inclosed in a red morocco case, 
with a silver lock I also sent with the same men, two letters for the St. George gentle- 
men, in which I assigned to them the tenth of my revenue, in consideration of and com- 
pensation for the reduction made on the duties on wheat and the other supplies. To 
nothing of this I have had any reply. Micer Francisco says that everything arrived 
safely. If this isthe case, (he failure of the St. George gentlemen to answer my letters 
is an act of discourtesy, for which the treasury is by no. means better off. This is the 
reason why it is generally said that to serve common people is serving no one. 
Quicil sirve A comun, no sirve :i niugun. 

Another book of my privileges, equal to the one above mentioned, was left by me at 
Cadiz, with Franco Catanio (who is the bearer of this letter) with instructicms to send it 
to you — in order that you would keep it, together with the other, in some safe place, at 
your discretion. 

At the time of ray departure I received a letter from the King and Queen, my Lord 
and Lady. It was written there. Look at it, and you will find it very good. Never- 
theless, Don Diego was not given jjossession, as it was promised. 

While I was in the Indies I wrote to their Highnesses, through three or four channels, 
about my voyage. One of these letters came back to me, and sealed as it was. I 
enclose it in this and send it to you. In another letter I enclose also a supplement to the 
above description of my voyage, and I pray you to give both to Micer Juan Luis, to 
whom I also have written and said that you will be the reader and interpreter of the 
said letters. 

I am anxious to hear from you, especially about the plan we agree to. 

I arrived here very sick, and about the time in which tlie Queen, my Lady (whom God 
has with Him) died, and I could not see her. 

Up to the present it is impossible for me to tell you what will be tlie practical result 
of all my doings. I suppose that Her Iligliness has properly provided in her will for 
everything concerning this matter, and the King, my lord, always gives good answers. 

Franco Catanio will verbally explain to you at length all the rest. 

May Our Lord keep yoa in His guard. 

From Seville, December 27, 1504. 

S. 

S. A. S. 

X. M. Y. 

Xpo FERENS. 

Great Admiral of the Ocean, Viceroy and Governor-General of the Indies. 

558. Enlarged fac-simile of the letter of Columbus to Nicolo Oderigo, 
December 27, 1504. 

The letters sent by Columbus to the Bank of St. George were duly 
entered upon the records of that institution. The original entry can still 
be read in the handwriting of the Chancellor, on pages 256 and 257 of 
the "Manuale," in 1503. In 1829 the precious documents called the 
Codice Diplomatico were transferred to the city of Genoa, and placed 
in the Municipal Palace, in what is called the "Custodia," a marble 



RELICS OF COLUMBUS. I33 

shaft which is surmounted by a bust of Columbus. They are shown 
once a week to visiting strangers, together with Paganini's vioHn, which, 
since 1840, has found its resting place in the "Custodia." On such occa- 
sions the chief custodian, who has charge of the relics, opens the little 
monument and exhibits its contents. He then locks it up carefully and 
places the key in a safe. 

559. The Codice Diplomatico. 

The Codice Diplomatico, preserved in the Municipal Palace of Genoa, 
is a small folio volume of parchment, bound in Spanish leather, with 
two silver ornaments on the sides, and enclosed in a leather bag. This 
originally had a silver lock, but it has been taken off and only the marks 
remain to show where it was fastened. 

The first document is an original letter of Phillip II, King of Spain, to 
Ottoviana Oderigo, Doge of Genoa, congratulating him upon his collec- 
tion. Then follows a memorandum relating to Lorenzo Oderigo, who in 
1669 gave the manuscripts to the republic. 

Then comes the title, written in red and black Gothic letters, with 
arabesque ornaments: "Cartas, Privileg, Cedulas y otras Escrituras de 
Don Christoval Colon, Almirante Mayor del Mar Oceano, Visorey y 
Gobernador de las Islas y Tierra Firma." (Letters, Privileges, Contracts 
and other Documents of Don Christopher Columbus, Great Admiral of 
the Ocean Sea, Viceroy and Governor of the Islands and the Main Land.) 
On the back of the title is the coat-of-arms of Columbus. 

The next leaf contains a table of contents of the volume. 

Then begin the documents themselves, covering forty-two leaves, with 
ornamental initial letters, and the attestations of the notaries and alcaldes 
of Seville, in whose presence the copies were made. 

Next follows the famous bull of Alexander V fixing the line of 
demarcation. The next two documents are arguments by Columbus 
describing his contract with the sovereigns and defending his rights, 
occupying nine pages. After this comes a letter of Columbus to the 
governess of the Prince Don Juan, which fills ten page's, and a mem- 
orandum of the different copies that had been made of the contracts 
with the sovereigns and their disposition. The two autograph letters of 
Columbus to Nicolo Oderigo are pasted on the pages following, and a 
copy of the reply of the director of the Bank of St. George of Genoa to a 
letter from Columbus. 

At the end of the volume is the sketch entitled "The Triumph of 
Columbus,'* which is said to have been made by himself. 

These manuscripts, with a duplicate copy, were sent by Columbus to 
his friend Nicolo Oderigo at Genoa, to be deposited in the Bank of St. 
George, but it appears that he failed to execute the commission and 



134 THE RELICS OF COLUMBUS. 

kept them. They were, however, preserved in his family until 1669, 
when his descendant, Lorenzo Oderigo, presented them to the municipal- 
ity of Genoa. During the occupation of Italy by Napoleon one of the 
manuscripts was taken to Paris, where it still remains in the archives of 
the foreign office. The other fell into the hands of Count Michael- 
angelo Cambiasi, who in 1887 surrendered it to the municipality. In 
1821 the custodia or monument was erected for its preservation from a 
design by Sig. Carlo Barrabbuio, executed by the sculptor Sig. Peschiera. 
Upon the column is the inscription: 

QV^ HEIC SVNT MEMBRANAS 

Epistolas Q. Expendito 

His Patriam Ipse Nempe Svam 

Colnmbus Aperit 

En Quid Mihi Creditum Thpsavri Siet 

Deer Decvrionum Gcnvene. 

M DCCC XXI. 

560. Bank of St. George at Genoa. 

The building occupied by this famous institution, which was the most 
powerful, financial and commercial organization in the world for several 
centuries, still stands on the shores of the Bay of Genoa, and is used by 
the government for customs purposes. 

561. The Triumph of Columbus. 

A sketch in pen and ink made by himself. Original preserved in 
Genoa. (See No. 168 portrait catalogue.) 

562. Relics in the museum at Rome. (Colored plate.) 

There arc in the museum at Rome certain relics of which illustrations 
are herewith given. They are claimed by some to have been brought 
from the New World by Columbus on his first voyage and sent by him 
as a gift to Pope Alexander VI. But they are much more likely to have 
been brought over by Cortez, or some of his associates in the conquest, 

563. Photograph of votive offerings left by Columbus at the shrine of the 

Holy Virgin at Siena, Italy, after his return from his voyage. 
While on the return from the discovery, in the midst of a fearful gale, 
Columbus made a vow to the Holy Virgin that if his life was spared he 
would visit a certain shrine at Siena, in the northern part of Italy, and 
leave a votive offering. Among the relics preserved at this shrine to-day 
are a helmet and sword, and a portion of the vertebrae of a whale, which 
he is claimed to have left there when he paid his vow. It is possi- 
ble he visited his father in Genoa at this time, although there is no 
evidence of the fact. It has been denied that these relics were 
left by Columbus, and it is asserted with equal positiveness that they 
belonged to the Florentines who were defeated at Poggibenzo in 1478. 
The relics hang over the main entrance to the little church Fonteginsta. 



RELICS OF COLUMBUS. I35 

564. Coat-of-arms of Columbus. 

The Spanish sovereigns bestowed upon Columbus a coat-of-arms 
showing a lion and a castle in the upper quarters, and in those below a 
group of golden islands in a sea of silver — as many as he discovered — 
and the original arms of his family, five golden anchors on a blue ground. 
The original is preserved in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs at Paris, and 
a duplicate at Genoa. The arms have been changed by the Dukes de 
Veragua, his descendants, to show silver capped waves in the sea, wh:!*' 
a globe surmounted l:)y a cross is placed in the midst of a gulf con- 
taining five islands.* 

565. Tickets in the Columbus lottery at Genoa. 

The Columbus Exposition^ at Genoa, Italy, which was organized to 
commemorate the four hundredth anniversary of the discovery, was 
supported by a lottery of which these are sample tickets. 

566. Coins made of the first gold brought from America. 

Loaned by Mr. Anton Springer, Rome, New York, to whom they were 
presented by a prominent priest of Cordova, Spain, said to be made of the 
first gold brought by Columbus from the New World. These coins 
were struck by hammer, and there are said to be but eighteen of the 
kind in existence. 

567. -Enlarged sketches of the Columbus coins. 

568. The alleged breviary of Columbus. (Photogjaph.l 

There is a book in the Orsini lil:)rary at Rome which has been the sub- 
ject of a great deal of discussion for more than a hundred years. It has 
been described by many respectable and reliable authorities as a brevi- 
ary presented to Columbus after his return from his first voyage by 
Pope Alexander VI, and Columbus is alleged to have written that "it 
comforted him' in his battles, his captivities and his misfortunes." On a 
leaf of this book is written what has been claimed to be a codicil to the 
will of Columbus, dated May 6, 1506, and this codicil has been used as 
evidence that the admiral was insane. In it he assumes that the titles 
and dignities he was promised by the sovereigns of Spain, whether they 
were acknowledged or not, were his of right to alienate, and he be- 
queathed them to the city of Genoa in case they were not recognized by 
the sovereigns of Spain. He bestows ujjon his native city in the same 
reckless manner the means to erect a hospital in his honor, and asks that 
the institution shall be supported by the revenues from his Italian 
estates, when he had no property whatever. 

An investigation made by Mr. J. C. Heywood in Rome demonstrates 

that the book is not a breviary at all, but an "Hours of the Virgin;" that 

*The orif^inal decree granting the coat-of-arms to Columbus is on exhibition at the chapel. 



136 THE RELICS OF COLUMBUS, 

there is no evidence whatever that it belonged to Columbus, and the date 
of its publication is many years subsequent to his death. The alleged 
codicil is on one small page, written over the original text, and the pen- 
manship is a very poor imitation of the autograph letters of Columbus 
preserved at Genoa. The book first attracted attention in 1779, and the 
manuscript was evidently a clumsy attempt, fraudulently, to give a 
speculative value to an otherwise worthless volume. 

569. The triumph of Columbus. 

An allegory by Nicolo Barabino. 

570. One of the bolts to which Columbus was chained in the dungeon at 

Santo Domingo. 

Obtained by Robert S. Moon, purser United States Navy in 1844 and 
presented to the National Museum, Washington, 

571. Silver coin issued at Bogota by the government of the republic of Col- 

ombia in commemoration of the fourth centennial of the discovery of 

America. 

Loaned by William E. Curtis, Washington, D. C. 

572. Miniature souvenir medals of the Columbian Historical Exposition at 

Madrid. 

Loaned by William E. Curtis, Washington, D. C. 

573. Medal awarded to William E. Curtis, director of the Bureau of the 

American Republics, by the commission in charge of the celebration 
in Spain of the four hundredth anniversary of the discovery of Amer- 
ica, in acknowledgment of his services in promoting its success. 

574a. The Wife of Columbus. 

By Nicolau Florentino, of Lisbon, Portugal. The first and only 
volume ever published concerning the wife of the admiral. 

S74b. English Translation of "The Wife of Columbus," by Regina Maney. 

575. Fac-simile of a draft made by Columbus in favor of Rodrigo Bizcaino 

and Francisco Nino. 

Original in the collection of the Duchess of Alva. 

576. Fac-simile of a fragment of an envelope with the seal of Columbus and 

his signature to a letter. 

577. Notes on Columbus. 

By Henry Harisse. Containing important results of his investigations. 
Privately printed. 

578. Sermon delivered by Rev. Dr. Frederick H. Quitman, on the second 

Sunday of October, 1792. 

On the Island of Curacoa, West Indies. " God glorified by the dis- 
covery of America." Loaned by Mrs. W. C. Nichols, 493 Fullerton 
avenue, Chicago. 



PUBLICATION OF THE DISCOVERY. l^'/ 



SECTION L. THE PUBLICATION OF THE DISCOVERY. 



600. Fac-simile of the title page of first book published about America. 

The news of the discovery of a new world by Columbus first appeared 
in print in the fall of 1493, a few months after his arrival at Palos. 
It was a little quarto of four leaves, thirty-four lines to the page, printed 
in black-faced type in the Latin language. The title, translated into 
English, is as follows: 

Letter from Christopher Columbus: to whom our age oweth much: concerning the 
islands of India beyond the Ganges, recently discovered. In the search of which he 
was sent eight months ago under the auspices and at the expense of the most invincible 
King of the Spains, Ferdinand. Addressed to the noble Lord Rafael Sanchez, treasurer 
of the most serene King, which the noble and learned man, Alexander de Cosco, 
translated from the Spanish idiom into Latin; the third day of the calendar of May, 
149J. The year one of the Pontificate of Alexander VI. 

While on his homeward voyage, February, 1493, and off the Canary 
Islands, Columbus wrote two accounts of his discovery. One was 
addressed to Rafael Sanchez, the crown treasurer of Aragon, and the 
other to Louis Santangel, the receiver of the ecclesiastical revenues, 
who had advanced the funds to equip the caravels and pay the expenses 
of the expedition. No trace of the original manuscript can be found, 
although it has been diligently searched for; nor is there any copy of 
the original in Spanish. The letter, after being read at court, was prob- 
ably handed to Alexander de Cosco, a notary, who made a translation 
into Latin, which was the common language of the printing-office in 
those days, and he undoubtedly threw away the original as of no further 
use. The Latin translation was handed to a printer, and he is unknown, 
as well as the place at which it was printed. 

Six editions of the little pamphlet were, however, published during 
the same year, 1493. The first and fourth editions are supposed to have 
been printed by Stephanus Planneck, at a famous printer at Rome. They 
have the same type and the same paper, and both are identical with 
other books published by this same printer about the same date. The 
types used in the first, second and third editions are very different, and 
the text varies in some particulars. The titles differ also. The third 
edition bears the printer's nanre, Eucharus Silber of Rome. The fifth 
and sixth editions were printed by Guyot Marchant at Paris. 

The first edition is a plain pamphlet without an ornament, or even an 
initial letter, and was evidently published with great haste. 



138 Tlir. RELICS 01> COLUMBUS. 

601. Fac-similes of the illustrations in the fifth edition of the first book 
, concerning the New World. 

602. Wood cuts from the first book published concerning America. 

603. Photograph of the title page of a volume of sermons. 

l'>y Dr. Ortiz, of Toledo, Uilo. 

""here was printed at Seville during the latter part of 1493 a volume 
of sermons by Dr. Alonzo Ortiz, a canon of Toledo who was famous for 
his bigotry and his rhetoric, in which the discovery of Columbus was 
described. It appears on page 43 of an oration pronounced in honor of 
Ferdinand and Isabella, and begins : "Behold, the eyes of mortals arc 
justly fixed upon you in merited approbation, on glorious princes, for 
there is no nation ever so barbarous that is not aware of your triumphs." 
The oidy copy of this volume known is in the public library of Boston, 
to which it was jiresented by the late Mr. George Tichnor, and from 
which this photograph is taken by consent of the trustees. 

604. Second edition of the letter of Columbus. 

Tiie second edition contains ten leaves, with twenty-seven lines to the 
page. It also contains seven elaborate wood cuts, live of which cover 
entire pages. On tlie recto of the first leaf is the coat-of-arms of Castile 
and Leon ; on the verso a vessel, with the words " Oceanica Classis ;" 
on the verso of the second leaf is a picture of men landing inscribed 
"Insula IlyspaTia" on the verso of thethirtl leaf is a rude map inscribed 
"Fernando Ysabella, Hyspana, Saluatoris conceptores Maria," and a 
caravel ; the wood-cut of the second leaf is repeated on the fifth ; on the 
verso of the si.xth leaf is a fort in process of construction, and the words, 
"Insula //i'.<r/f?;7^j';" on the tenth leaf a full-page portrait of King Ferdi- 
nand, while on the last page a]i]icars the roat-of-arms of Granada, so 
that we may assume that it was printed in that city. 

There is a cojjy in the Lenox librarv in New York, ami another in 
the British museum. There was formerly a third in the Brera library 
at Milan, but it has disappeared. 

Copies of ilir third edition are bunul in the Lenox library at New 
York and in the John 15rown Carter college at Providence, Rhode 
Islanil. 

There are copies of the fourth edition in the British museum, in the 
Royal library at Munich, in Milan, in the Carter-Brown collection at 
Providence, in the Lenox library at New York, and one belonging to the 
late .Samuel L. M. Barlow, of New York, was sold at auction to Dodd, 
Mead l^- Co., in 1S!)0 for SlM'-'iO. 

Both the first and second etlitions contain an epigram written by Leo- 



PUBLICATION OF THE DISCOVERY. I39 

nardo de Carminis, bishop of Monte Peloso, situated in the kingdom of 
Naples, which reads in English as follows: 

To the invincible King of the Spains: 
Less wide to the world than the renown of Spa\n, 
To swell her triumphs no new lands remain! 
Rejoice, Iberia! See thy fame increase! 
Another world Columbus from the east 
And the mid-ocean summons to thy way! 
Give thanks to him ; but loftier homage pay 
To God Supreme, who gives its realms to thee! 
Greatest of monarchs, first of servants be. 

Ferdinand was ruler of Naples as well as of Aragon, but had pawned the 
former country to France, and it was not restored to him by Charles 
VIII until some time after. It is supposed that the poetic bishop was 
paying a visit to court at the time Columbus returned, when he took the 
opportunity to sing the glory of his royal master. 

The omission of Queen Isabella in the first edition was corrected in 
the third, which was published immediately after by the same printer, 
and copies of that were sent to Rome and Paris when the pamphlet was 
republished. 

Of the first edition but three copies are known. One is in the British 
museum, another in the Royal library at Munich, and the third in the 
Public library of Boston, having been purchased for §3,000 in 1890, at the 
sale of the books of the late Samuel L. M. Barlow, who procured it in 
1864 from Col. Thomas Aspinwall. The latter bought it in London in 
1831. 
605. Fifth edition of the letter of Columbus. 

The fifth edition of the letter of Columbus, which was printed at Paris, 
has on the first leaf a wood cut, representing an angel appearing to a 
group of shepherds. The only copies known are in the library at Paris 
and the collection of the late John Carter-Brown at Providence. 

608. Sixth edition of the letter of Columbus. 

The sixth edition, which was also printed in Paris, bears the title 
"Epistle Concerning Islands Recently Discovered," with a picture repre- 
senting a tailor and a shoemaker at work, with a pair of clasped hands 
and a pair of boots hanging from a rod. Three copies are known, be- 
longing to the Carter-Brown collection, the Bodlein collection at Oxford, 
and the University library at Gottengen. 

609. The letter of Columbus to Luis Santangel. 

Columbus, while at sea, wrote a letter describing his voyage to Luis 
Santangel, to whom he was indebted for the funds to pay the expenses 
of the expedition. It was in black Gothic type, upon coarse paper, 
without title, date, or printer's name; a pamphlet of four leaves, in Span- 



140 THE RKLICS Ol' COI.UMnUS. 

isli. 'riic only copy is in tlu' Anihiosian lilnary at Milan, bccincathcd in 
1852 by the Uaron Pictro Ciistoili of that city. 

A similar (|uarto, printed about tiic s-inio time and also unique, was 
sold by Mr. lirayton i\es in 1S!)1 to Dodd, Mead \- Co. 
Translation of the letter of Columbus to Luis De Santangel. 

HlU : ' H I am niiro joii will b(» iiiciiscil at (lio threat victory wliicli tlic Loril liaw Rivon 
iiH> ill my voyafjc, 1 writx tiiis to iiifonii you lliat in twenty days I arrivcdin tlio Inilios 
with (Ih> s(i\ia(ir()U wliicli llii'ir Majcst icK had placod uiidiT my command. Tlicn> I dis- 
covered many islands, inlialdted liy u nnmei-ons iiopiilatioii, an<l took possession of 
tiiem for tlwMr HiKliii('ssc>H, willi public c(>reniony and the myai Hat; displayed, without 
n»iil(wtation. 

'I'iie first tliat 1 discovered I named San Salvador, in r(>ni(>mhrnnc« of that Almislity 
Power whicli had so miraculously bestowed th(>ui. The Indians call it, (luanaliani. To 
the second I assi>rned the name of Sania Mario d« ('ouception; to tho third, tiiat of 
Kornandina; to tivo fourth, that of Isabella; to tiie iiftli, Juann ; and at) on, to every 
on(> a n(>w name. 

Wiien i arrived at Jnaiia, I followed tho coast t.o tlio westward and ft)und itsoex- 
t(<nsiv(> that I considered itniust be a continent and a province of Cathay. And as 1 
fouiiil no towns or villages by th(> s(>aside, excepting t*ome snudl settlements, with tiio 
P(iople of wliicli 1 <H)uld not communicatee because they all ran away, 1 continued my 
courseto the westward, thinkinj:; I should not fad to tind some lar^o town and cities. 
y\fter having; coasted many leagues without finding imy si^ns of tlieui, and seeing that 
the coast look me to the northward, where I did not^ wish to go, as the winter was al- 
r(>ady set in, 1 considered it best to follow the coast to the south ; and the winil beiug 
also scant. I determined to lose no more time, and therefore returned to a c(>rtain port, 
from wheuc(> 1 sent two messeiiKers into the country to ascertain whether there was any 
kiuK lluM-e or any large city. 

They traveled ftir thr(<e days, fmding'an infinite nnmb(>r of small settl(>ments and an 
innumeralile population, but nothing like a city ; on which account they returned. I 
hud tolerably well ascertained from some Indians whom 1 had taken that this laml was 
only an island, so 1 followed the const of it to the east 107 leagues, to its tt>rmiiiatioii. 
And aboiiti eighteen h>agues from this caiie, to the east, tlier(> was another island, to 
which I shortly gav(> the nani(> of Kspanola. I went to it, and followed the north coast 
of it , as I had don(> that of .1 nana, for ITS long leai:ues due east. 

This island is v(>ry fertile, as W(>11, indeed, as all the r(>st. It possesses numerous har- 
bors, far superior to any I know in h'.iirope, and what is remarkabh", plenty of large 
inl(>ts. The lauil is high, and contains many lofty ridges and some very high mount- 
ains, without comparison of the Island of Cetrefrey ; all of them very handsoni(> and of 
ditTerent forms; all of them acci^ssibie and abounding in I r(>es of a thousand kinds, 
high, and appearing as if they would reach the skies. And 1 am assureil that the laf- 
lt>r n(>ver lose ttu^ir fii>sli foliage, as far as 1 can undorstaiui, for I saw them as f r<>sli and 
tlourishing asthose of Spain in tho month of May. Som(> were in blossom, some bear- 
ing fruit, iind others in other slates ac(^ordingto their n.'ituri'. 

The night ingal<> and a thousand kinds of birds enliven tli(< woods with their song, in 
the month of November, wherever 1 went. There are s<>ven or eight kinds of palms, of 
various eli'gant forms, besid(>s various otIuM' triies, fruits anil herbs. The pines of this 
islanil are magniliceiil. It has also ext(<nsive plains, honey, and a great variety of birds 
and fruits. It has many metal mines, and a population innumerable. 

lOspanola is a wonderful island, with mountains, groves, plains, and the country gen- 
erally beautiful and rich for planting and sowing, for rearing sheep and caltltMtf all 
kinds, and ready for towns and cities, Tho harbors must bo seen to be nppreciateil; 



PUBLICATION or THE DISCOVKRY. I4I 

rivorHiirti plontiful and lll^^?o and of exocllont water; tlio Kroater i)art of Uioiii contain 
t^old. Tluiro iH a Kitvit dillVronod hotwuen tlio tre(>H, f ruitH, and licrbH of tliiH inland and 
those of J liana. In tliis island thviv aro many Hpiirus, and larKo niinoH of Kold and 
othor nietalw. 

Tlin people of tliis island and of all tho others winch I have discovered or heard of, 
both ni(>n and wonion, no naked as they were born, althouKJi some of the women w(!ar 
leaves of herbs or a cotton covering made on purpose. They iiave noirou orsteel, nor 
any w<s-ii)ons; not tiiat they are not a well-dis|)os(^d p(>oi>le and of line stature, but they 
are timid to a d(»f;ree. Th(\v have no other arms <>xceptiMf,' speard ma<lo of cane, to 
which they tix at the end a shari) piece of wood, and then dare not use even these. Fre- 
<iu(>ntly 1 had occasion to s(>nd two or three of my men on shore to some S(<ttlement for 
information, where there would I.h^ multitudes of tliemjand as soon as they saw our peo- 
ple they would rim away every soul, the father leaving his child; and thia was not 
because any one liaddone them harm, for. rather at every cape where 1 had landed and 
been able to communic.-ite with them I have made them presents of cloth an<l many 
other thint;» without receiving any t hint; in return; but Ixuiause they are so timid. Cer- 
tainly, where they have contideiice and fort,'et the! i' f ejus they ar<) so open-hearted and 
liberal witliall they possess that it is s(^arc(^ly to be believed witliout seeinK it. If any- 
thing tlint tliey have is asked of them they nevia-deny it; on thetiontrary, they will olTer 
it. Their j.;en(M'osity is so K''<'at that tluw would f;iv(( anytiiint;, whether it is costly or 
not, for anythini^of (wery kind that is olTered Uwin an<l be contented with it. 1 was 
obIine<l to jirevent such worthhtss tluuKs bein^? tjivon them as jiiocMis of broken basins, 
broken jilass, and bits of shoe-latcliets, altiiouKh when they obtained th(!m they (>st(*em(«i 
them as if tliey had been the >;r(«itest of treasures. One of the seamen for a latchet 
received a piec(( of j^ohl weiu'iinK two dollarsand a hidf, and otiiers, for other IhiiiKKof 
much less value, obtained more. A^cain, for new silver <H)in tliey would Kiv<'everyliiiiif; 
they poss((Ssed, whether it was worth two or threi^ doui)loons or one or tvi'o b;dls of cot- 
ton. l!'.ven for pieces of brokt^n pipe-tubes th(^y would take tlann and ^ive anything for 
thoni, until, when 1 thouKlit it wron^;, I prevented it. And I made them presents of 
thousands of tilings which I had, that 1 mi^ht win their esteem, and also that they 
niiKlit be m ido^ood (!hristiani and be disposed to the service of your Majestiits and 
the whole Spanish nation, and help ua to obtain tiie things whicli we ro(iuire and of 
which there is al)undan(!e in their country. 

And tluwe peoi)leappear to have neither religion nor idolat ry, except tiiat th(\v believe 
that Kooil and evil come from the skies; and they lirndy believed that our ships and their 
crows, with myself, came from the skies, and with this pi'rsuasion, after liaviiif; lost 
their fears, they always received us. And yet this does not proceed from iKnoran('(\ for 
tiiey are very iut;enious, .anil some of them navigate their sc^as in a wonderful manner 
and ^ive good account of tilings, but because they never saw i>eoplo dressed or shii)S 
like ours. 

And as soon as I arrived in tlui Indies, at the first island at which 1 touched, I capt- 
ured Hom() of them, that we mijiht learn from them and obtjiin intelliKenc(i of what 
there was in those parts. .Vnd as soon as wo understood each othor thoy were of threat 
service to us; but yet, faom fre()uent conversation whicli I have had with them, they 
still Ijolieve wo came from the skies. Those were the iirst to express that idea, and oth- 
ers ran from houso to house, and to the neishboriiifi villii^es, cryinf; out, "Come and see 
the people from the skies." And thus all of tluMU, men and women, aft(>r satisfied them- 
selves of their safety, came to us without r(vserv(>, fj;reat and sm.-dl, brin^jinK us eome- 
thint; to oat and drink, and which they Riive to us most allectionately.' 

They have many canoos in thosn islands proi)elled by oars, some of them larse and 
others small, and many of them with eishtor ten i)ruldles of a side, not very wid(<, but 
all of one trunk, andaboat can not kojp way witii thorn by oars, for thoy are incredibly 



1^2 THE RELICS OF COLUMBUS. 

fa8t;anil witli these thoy navigate all the islands, which are innumerable, anil obtain 
their articles of traflic. I have seen some of tliose canoes with sixty or eighty men in 
them, and eachwitlia paddle. 

Among the islands 1 did not find mach diversity of formation in the people, nor in 
their customs, nor tiieir language. They all understand eacli other, whicli is remarka- 
ble; and I trust Your Higlmesses will determine on their being converted to our faith, 
for which they are very well disposed. 

I have already said that I went 107 leagues along the coast of Juana, from east to 
west. Thus, according to my track, it is larger than England and Scotland together, 
for, besides thi^se 107 leagues, there were further west two provinces to which I did not 
go, one of winch is called Cibau, the people of which are born with tiiils; which prov- 
inces must bo about fifty or sixty leagues long, according to what I can make out from 
the Indians 1 have with nie, who know all the islands. The other island (Espanola) is 
larger in circuit than the whole of Spain, from the Straits of Gibraltar (the Columns) 
to Fuentarabia in Biscay, as I sailed 138 long leagues in a direct line from west to east. 
Once known it must be desired, and once seen one desires never to leave it; and 
which, being taken possession of for their Highnesses, and the people being at present in 
a condition lower tlian 1 can possibly describe, the sovereigns of Castile may dispose of 
it in any manner they please in the most convenient places. In this Esiianola, and the 
best district, there are gold mines, and, on the other hand, from thence to terra firma, 
as well as from thence to the Great Khan, where everything is on a splendid scale. I 
liave taken possossien of a large town, to which I gave the name of La Navidad, and 
have built a fort in it in every respect complete. And 1 have left sufficient people in it 
to take care of it, with artillery and provisions for more than a year, also a boat and 
coxswain with the eciuipments, in complete friendship with the king of the island, to 
that degree that ho d(Uighted to call me and look on me as his brother. And should 
they fall out with these people, neither ho nor his subjects know anything of weapons, 
and go naked, as I have said, and they are the most timorous people in the world. The 
few people left there are sufficient to conquer the country, and the island would thus 
remain without danger to them, they keeping order among themselves. 

In all these islands it appeared to me the men aro contented with one wife, but to 
their governor or king they allow twenty. The women seem to work more than the 
men. 1 have not been able to discover whether they respect personal property, for it 
appeared to me things were common to all, especially in the particular of provisions. 
Hitherto I have not seen in any of these islands any monsters, as there were supposed 
to be; the people, on the contrary, are generally well formed, nor are tJiey black like 
those of Guinea, saving thiur hair, and they do not reside in places exposed to the sun's 
rays. It is true that the sun is most powerful there, as it is only twenty-six degrees 
from the equator. In this last winter those islands which were mountainous were 
cold, but they are accustomed to it, with good food, and plenty of spices and hot nutri- 
ment. Thus I have found no monsters nor hoard of any, except at an island which is 
the second in going to tho Indies, and which is inhabited by a people who are consid- 
ered in all the islands as ferocious, and who devour human llesh. These people have 
many cano(»s, which scour all the islands of India, arwi plunder all thoy can. They are 
not worse formed than others, but they wear the hair long like women, and use bows 
and arrt)ws of the same kind of cane, pointed with a i>iece of hardwood instead of 
ir(m, of which they have none. Tiiey are fierce comi)ared with the other people, who 
are in general but sad cowards; but I do not consider them in any other way superior 
to them. These are they who trade in women, who inhabit the lirst island met with in 
going from Spain to the Indies, in which there are no men whatever. They have no ef- 
feminate exercise, but bows and arrows, as before said, of cane, with which they arm 
themselves, and use shields of copper, of which they have plenty. 



PUBLICATION OF THE DISCOVERY. I43 

There Ih another inland, 1 am told, larger than Espanola, the natives of which have 
no hair. In this there is gold wit! lout limit, and of thin and the others 1 have Indianw 
with nic to witness. 

In conclusion, referring only to what has been effectedby this voyage, which was made 
witli so mucli liaste. Your Higlinesses may tee that 1 shall find as much gold as desired 
with the very little assistance alTorded to me; there is as much spice and cotton as can 
be wIbIkhI for, and also gum, wliicli liitlierto has only been found in Greece, in the 
island of Chios, and they may sell it as they please, and tlie mastich,as much as may be 
desired, and slaves, also, who will hn idolators. And 1 believe that 1 have rhubarb, 
and cinnamon, and a thousand other things 1 siiall find, which will have been dis- 
covered by those whom 1 have left beiiind, for I did not stop at any cape when the 
wind enabled nw to navigate, except at the town of Navidad, wliere I was very safe and 
well tak( n care of. And in truth much more I should have done if theslupshad 
served me as miglit have been expocted. This is certain, that the Eternal (iod our Lord 
gives all £hings to those who obey Him, and the victory when it seems impossible, and 
this, evidently, is an instance of it. for although people have talked of these lands, all 
was conjecture unless proved by seeing them, for the greater part listened and judged 
more by hearsay than by anything else. 

Since, then, our Redeemer has given this victory to our illustrious King and Queen 
and celebrated their reigns by such a great thing, all C'liristendom should rejoice and 
make great festivals, and give solemn thanks to the Blessed Trinity, with solemn 
praises for the exaltfition of so muc!i people to our holy faith; and next for the 
temporal blessings which not only Spain but tliey will enjoy in becoming Christians, 
and whicii last may shortly bo accomplished. 

Written in the caravel off the (Canary Islands, on the fifteenth of February, ninety- 
three. 

The following is introduced into the letter after being closed; 

After writing the above, being in tiie Castilian Sea (off the coast of Castile), I ex- 
perienced so severe a winil from south and southeast tliat I have been obliged to run 
to-day into this port of Lisbon, and only by a miracle got safely in, from whence I in- 
tended to write to Your Higlinesses. In all parts of the Indies I have found the 
weather like that of May, where 1 went in ninety-three days, and returned in seventy- 
eight, saving those thirteen days of bad weather that I have been detained beating 
about in this .sea. Every seaman here says that never was so severe a winter, nor such 
loss of ships. 

610. Fac-simile of the letter of Columbus to Louis Santangel. 

Quaritch copy. 

In 1H91 Mr. Bernard Quaritch, of London, awakened the astonishment 
of l3iblioi)hiles by offering for sale for $8,750 what he claimed to be a 
copy of the first edition of this letter printed at Barcelona in April, 1493 
This remarkable pamphlet is said to have been found in Spain in 1889. 
It consists of two leaves of very coarse paper, printed in Spanish black- 
faced type, without the name of the publisher or the place of impression. 
Four leaves of similar paper are stitclied to it, which have no doubt 
been its protection for four hundred years. The first and second leaves 
are glued together, and there is writing on all four. On the first and 
second leaves appears a biography of Saint Leocadia, who suffered mar- 
tyrdom at Toledo in the year 304. On the third and fourth is an appeal 



144 Till". Kin.lCS OF COLUMBUS. 

to tlu- Arclidukc riiilip, (l;itO(l I'Jtli of May, 14'.)7, n,u;ainst tlic exorbitant 
taxation imposed u|)oii the pcoi)le of the Netherlands. From this docu- 
ment it is inferred that the copy of the Santangel letter was taken from 
Spain to Flanders by some member of the suite of the Princess Juana, 
the dau,u;hter of Ferdinand and Isabella, who married Philip the Hand- 
some at l.ille on the 22d of August, 1496, The treasure was purchased 
by the Fenox library, of New York, ia the fall of 1892, where it is con- 
sidereit the most precious and important example of all literature relat- 
ins:: to Columbus and the discovery of America. 

6ii. The sermon of Bishop Carvajal. 

Foaned by the Library of Congress. 

On the IDth of June, 14i);{, there was delivered at Rome a "sermon on 
the solcnui i)ledge of obedieiue from the Most Christian Sovereigns, 
Ferdniand and Isabella, King and Queen of the Spains, to our Most 
Holy Ford the Pope Alexander VI, by the Reverend Father, Ford Her- 
nardin Carvajal, Bishop of Carthagcna," who took for his text the verse 
in Isaiah xi, reading: "The calf and the young lion and the fatling 
■ together, and a little child will lead them." 

In this sermon the holy father dwells at length upon the achieve- 
ments of Ferdinand and Isabella, chief among which he numbers the 
discoveries of Columbus. It was publishetl late in the year 1493, and 
three copies of the volume are known to exist; in the Peter Force collec- 
tion of the Fibrary of Congress at Washington, in the Fenox Fibrary at 
New York anil in Milan. 

6i2. Photograph of the Bull of Demarcation by Pope Alexander VF 

The famous IWiU of Demareatidn, uttered May 12, 149;!, by Pope Alex- 
ander VI, divided the newly-found world between his faithful subjects, 
the sovereigns of Sjiain and Portugal. Only one printed copy oi this 
all-impiirtant docunient has been known of recent years. That was sold 
at auction by Puttrick t^ Simpson, of Fondon, on the 24th of May, 1854, to 
Obadiah Rich, who is said to have represented some American ct)llector, 
but the name of his client is unknown, and the document has entirely 
disappeared. There is no other copy known and the library of the Vat- 
ican has been searched in vain for a duplicate. The manuscript copy 
sent to Spain is now in the archives of the Indies at Seville, from which 
this photograph was taken. 

613. Narrative of the second voyage of Columbus— "De Insulis Meridiani 

atque Indici Maris nuper inventis." 

"An account of the islands recently discovered in the Southern and 
Indian Ocean under the auspices of the invincible sovereigns of Spain 
by Nicolas Syllacius." 



PUBLICATION OF THE DISCOVERY. I45 

The second voyage of Columbus was first described in print by Nico- 
las Syllacius, lecturer on philosophy in the University of Pavia. Gugli- 
elmo Coma, an Italian noble living in Spain, sent an account of it, hav- 
ing gained the information from the letters of Columbus and that of Dr. 
Chanca, of Seville, who accompanied the expedition as a surgeon. This 
news was made the basis of a jiamphlet of ten pages in Latin, which 
was printed by Girard-hengi at Pavia in 1494 under the title: "To the 
Most Learned Lewis Maria vSforza, of Anghiera, Seventh Duke of Milan, 
Concerning the Newly-Discovered Islands of the South and Indian 
Oceans, Under the Auspices of the Most Invincible Sovereigns of Spain. 
By Nicholas Syllacio, Doctor of Arts and Medicine, Lecturer on Phi- 
losophy at Pavia." 

The voyage to which this account refers is the second, that on which 
Columbus sailed from Cadiz on the 25th of Sejjtember, 1498. The first 
island he discovered was called Dominica from the day in which it was 
seen. The second was named Maria-galanle, or V'olante, after the ad- 
miral's vessel. He then visited in succession Guadeloupe, Santa Cruz, 
the Island of St. John the Baptist, now Puerto Rico, and the last of all 
His]niniola. 

This voyage has been described by other writers of the same age, 
Peter Martyr among others. 

The (>nly known copies are in the Lenox library, New York, and the 
Trivulzio library at Milan. 

614. Modern reprint of the Guiliano Dati poem. 

On the 25th of October, 1493, appeared, in the form of a poem, a met- 
rical translation of the Santangel letter and it was printed at Florence. 
The author was Guiliano Dati, Bishop of Saint Leone, born at Florence 
in 1445, and the author of several poems, which are among the rarest of 
bibliograjihical curiosities. There arc sixty-eight stanzas, of which four- 
teen are devoted to a eulogy of the infamous Alexander Borgia. The 
story of Columbus and his voyage is introduced in the fourteenth stanza, 
of which the following is a translation: 

Back to my time, O listener, turn with mo, 
And hear of ishmds all unknown to theo! 
Islands whereof the ^rand discovery 
Chanced in this year of fourteen ninety-three; 
One Christopher Colombo, whose resort 
Was ever in the Kinf? Fernando's court, 
Bent himself still to rouse and stimulate 
The King to swell the borders of his State. 

The title of the poem translated is: 

This is the history of the discovery of the Canary Islands of tho Indies, extracted 
from a lott«r of Christopher Columbus, and translated into Latin from the common 



146 . THE RELICS OF COLUMBUS. 

language of Guiliano Dati for the praise and glory of the celestial court, and' for the 
consolation of the Christian religion, and at the request of the magnilicent chevalier, 
John Pliilip Delignaruine, iirivate secretary of the most sacred and Christian King of 
Spain, October 25, 1493. 

Only two copies of the first edition are known. One is in the British 
museum, and the other was obtained for the historical collection of the 
World's Columbtan Exposition. 

A second edition was, however, published only one day later than the 
first, on the '26th of October, 1493, also at Florence, but the type is differ- 
ent, and there are numerous changes in the text which was evidently re- 
vised by the bishop. It contains also a frontispiece, representing the 
King of Spain sitting upon his throne and gazing across the water at an 
island covered with Indians, houses and palms. There are two copies 
known, one in the Ihitish museum, and another in a library at Milan. 
615. Original of the "Dati del Isole," 1492, the first poem concerning the 

New World. 
6i6, The first drama conoerning America. 

Loaned by the Library of Congress, Washington. 

Early in the year 1494 there was published a drama presenting the 
incidents in the siege of Granada, to whicli was .attached a copy of the 
letter of Columbus to Rafael Sanchez. The title reads: "To the Praise 
of the Most Illustrious Ferdinand, King of the Siiains, Bethica and 
Granada; his siege, victory and triumph, and of the islands newly dis- 
covered in the Indian Sea." Copies are found in the Lenox library. 
New York, the Carter Brown collection in Providence, the Peter P^orce 
collection in the Congressional library at Washington, and in the 
library of Harvard College. 
617. Original of the Da Vinci map. 

Loaned l)y Her Imperial Majesty Queen \'icturia at the recjuest of the 
President of the United States. 

This map is entitled " Mappemonde " and shows Newfoundland and 
Florida both as islands, and a passage to a western sea north of the 
coast line of South America. The North Continent of America is not 
represented, except by these two islands. There was published in Lon- 
don, 1886, by the Society of Antiquaries, a volume entitled " Archa^ologia 
or Miscellaneous Tracts/elating to Antiquity" (Volume XL), which con- 
tains an extended article on this map by R. H. Major. 

It is a curious fact that several letters passed between Columbus and 
Leonardo da Vinci, the celebrated painter of "The Last Supper," 
respecting a western passage to the Indies. They were written in 1473 
and 1474, when Da Vinci was an engraver and map-maker. This 
original was found among a lot of sketches and drawings in the collec- 
tion of Queen Victoria at Windsor castle. 



PUBLICATION OF THE DISCOVERY, I47 

618. Fac-simile of first chart of the West Indies, by Juan de la Cosa. 

The first map of the West Indies was drawn by Juan de la Cosa, the 
pilot of Columbus on his second voyage, and the original belongs in the 
Naval museum at Madrid. It was drawn upon an ox hide in 1500. 
Baron von Humboldt found it, in 1832, in the library of Herr Walckner, 
Paris, and through him it was purchased by the Spanish government. 
La Cosa made several voyages to the West Indies and along the north- 
ern coast of South America, and was killed by the natives on the 
Isthmus of Darien in 1509. It is upon this map that the alleged por- 
trait of Columbus appears as St. Christopher with the Christ-child upon 
his back, crossing a stream, which was intended to be symbolical of 
his carrying Christianity to the inhabitants of the New World. 

619. First picture illustrating the natives of America. 

In 1497 an account of the two voyages of Columbus was published in 
German at Augsburg, without the name of the author or the printer, but 
the book is notable for the reason that it contains the first pictorial illus- 
tration of the manners and customs of the inhabitants of the New 
World. It is a rude wood cut nine by thirteen inches in size, represent- 
ing the natives of the West Indies preparing a cannibalistic feast. 

620. The book of Philopono. . 

Loaned by William E. Curtis, Washington. 

Honorio Philopono was a monk of the order of St. Benedict. He 
edited a book with the following title: "Voyage to the New World of 
the Western Indies, given now to the press, made by the Mf)St Rev. 
Father Dom Buell, of Catalonia, Abbot of Montserrate, and Apostolic 
Legate d latere of the Holy See for the whole America, or New World, 
and Patriarch of the same, and his associates or brethren of the same 
order of St. Benedict, sent by His Holiness the Po[)e Alexander VI in 
1492, to preach the Gospel of Christ to the barbarous people of those 
regions, written upon the notes and statements of several authors, and 
illustrated with engravings." 

621. The first published portrait of Columbus. 

Wood cut copied from painting in possession of Paulus Jovius, Bishop 
of Nocera, in his gallery on the banks of Lake Como. 

622. Manuscript copy in Latin of Ptolemy's Cosmographiae, 1504. 

623. The first biographies of Columbus. 

One of the first biographies of Columbus published was printed as a 
note to the 119th Psalm in a polyglot psalter on the 8th of April, 1516, by 
Augustino Giustiniani, a native of Genoa and a member of the order of 



148 THE RELICS OF COLUMBUS. 

Dominicans. He was a man of great learning and professor of oriental 
languages in the university, until made bishop of Corsica in 1514. At 
the request of King Francis I, who founded the University of Paris,' 
Giustiniani removed there to fill the chair of Hebrew. He was lost at 
sea in 1536, and it is supposed he was killed by pirates. 

It was the first polyglot edition of any portion of the Bible ever printed, 
and the undertaking was viewed with indifference by both the religious 
community and the booksellers of the time; but Giustiniar.i persevered 
and published two thousand copies of his psalter at his own expense. 
There is no evidence that he ever knew Columbus, but he was certainly 
aware that Columbus believed himself to have been chosen by God to 
fulfill the prophecy contained in the 119th Psalm, The following is 
the introduction to the good bishop's biography. 

Tho heavens declare the glory of God and tho firmament showeth Hie handiwork. 

Day unto day uttereth siwech and night nnto night showeth knowledge. 

There is no speech nor language where their voice is not known. 

Their line has gone out through all tlie earth and their words to the end of the 
■worli— at least in our own times, when, through the wonderful daring of the fienoese, 
Christopher C^olumbus, almost a new earth has been discovered and added to the 
Christian family. 

Then follows a sketch of his life. It is believed that this book was 
printed in 1506, but it appears to bear date of 1616. The title page 
is the following: 

" Psalter, Hebrew, Greek, Arabic and Chaldean, with three Latin interpretations and 
glossaries. Printed with wonderful skill by Pester Paul Porrus of Crenoa, in the house 
of Niclitdas Justinian Paulus under the excellent Octavius Fulgoso, President of tho 
Republic of Genoa, in the name of tlie Most Hlustrious King of France, in tho year 
of the Christian Salvation 1516, October 9, Peter Paul Porrus of Milan, residing at 
Turin. 

A copy of the original edition of this book was obtained for the Col im- 
bus collection of the Chicago Exposition. 
624. Life of Columbus, by his son Fernando. 

Fernando Columbus is the reputed author of a biography of his father 
which has been published in several languages. Spotorno, in the intro- 
duction to his collection of documents concerning Columbus, asserts that 
this biography was taken to Genoa by Luis Columbus after the death of 
Fernando and placed in the hands of a friend, who delivered it to Alfonso 
de Ullua, by whom it was translated into Italian and published at \^enice 
in 1751. Several editions have since been printed in different languages; 
but Henry Harrisse has expended a great deal of labor in collecting 
evidence to show that Fernando did not write it. 

Washington Irving declared it to be "an invaluable document, entitled 
to great faith, and the cornerstone of the history of the American Con- 
tinent." John Fiske says that it "is of priceless value," and other 



PUBLICATION OF THE DISCOVERY. I49 

equally good authorities agree with them; but Justin Winsor admits that 
there may be doubt of its geimineness— enough to keep it "constantly 
subject to critical caution." The weak spot in the pedigree of the book 
is that there is no copy in the Spanish language, and none has ever been 
seen. Harrisse holds that the biography was written in 1525, perhaps 
under the patronage of Fernando Goliimbus, by a man named Perez de 
Oliva; that it was transported to Italy, and half a century afterward pub- 
lished as the work of the son of the admiral in order to give it a more 
authentic character and an increased sale. However, the inscription upon 
the tomb of Fernando Columbus credits him with the composition. 

625. First reference to America in the Dutch language. 

Fac-simile of the title jtage of Newe Unbekanthe Landt, published at 
Nuremburg in 1508. Originals in Lenox, Carter Brown and Congress- 
ional libraries. 

626. Works of Peter Martyr. 

Loaned by the Library of Congress, Washington. 

In April, 1511, in the works of Peter Martyr, published at Seville by 
James Corumberger, a German printer, appears the first consecutive 
and general account of the new world. And a copy of this work pre- 
served in the Columbian Library, founded by Fernando Columbus, at 
Seville, contains a manuscript map on vellum, which is claimed to have 
been made by Columbus himself. 

Pietro Martire d'Angliera, or Peter Martyr, as he is usually called in 
English, was the father of American history. Like Columbus and Amer- 
icus Vespucius, he was an Italian, was born in 1459, and etlucated at 
Rome. He went to Spain in 1487, fought with the Siianish army in the 
war against the Moors and was ordained as a priest in 1494. Shortly 
after he was made tutor to the children of Ferdinand and Isabella, and 
a chaplain. at court, but he seems to have paid more attention to litera- 
ture than to his ecclesiastical duties. He was quick of discernment, a 
great gossip, and had a ready pen, which found occupation in the prep- 
aration of more than eight hundred letters concerning events in Spain, 
which were addressed to various distinguished individuals from 1488 to 
1526, when he died. During the most of this time Peter Martyr was the 
official chronicler at court, which he followed from place to place, and 
was a witness of the most interesting scenes in that important eijoch of 
the world's history. 

The relations of Peter Martyr with Columbus were intimate, as they 
were with Americus Vespucius, and other famous characters of his 
generation, and from him we learn more oi {jersonal interest concerning 
them than from any other writer. Martyr wrote in a. careless, gossipy 
way, resembling the present style of journalism, and was not always 



150 TttE RELICS OF COLUMBUS. 

accurate. But his conesiioiulcuco is most eutcrtaining, and his letters 
were transmitted to different parts of Eurojie, until they were finally- 
published in a volume under the title "De Orbe Novo" (concerning the 
New World). 

The only copies (if the lust edition known are in the Carter Brown 
collection at Providence and the Royal Library at Munich. Subsequent 
editions are now common. 

627. One of the first books published concerning America. 

h'.ntiticd "X'oyage of the Spaniards in the West Indies." 

628. A history of the voyage of Magellan, 1519 1522, by Antonio Pigafetta. 

Loaned by William E. Curtis, Washington, 1). C. 

This book is responsible for a great many of the romances in other 
early publications about .South America. 

629. The Cosmographiae of Peter Apianus, 1524. 

Loaned by William K. Curtis, Washington, I). C. 

The lirst geographic description of America appears in the Cosmo- 
graphiiu oi Peter Apianus, printed at Antwerp, and reads as follows: 

Amorica, now culled tlio fourth division of the earth, derived its name from that of 
AnioriciiM V(isiniciun, its disi-ovcrcr. It i.s also, and not without reason, callod an ishind, 
becansn it is surrounded cvcrywlioro by the sea. Owinj? to its boiuK so far away it was 
not known t^itlier to rtoloiny or other ancient writers. It was discovered, through tlie 
elTortsof the Kin^t.of ("astile, in tlio year 1HI7 of tli6 Christian era. America is also 
called "The New Worlil" on account of its vast extant. Its inhabitants go about, in 
some locaHties, without any dreas. Some of tliem are anthropopliatii of tlio most cruel 
description. They are oxceinlingly oxviert in arciiery, obey no one, and have no lords or 
kings. Excellent swimmers are found among them in cither sex. They have no iron, 
or other metids, but use the teetli of iishes and other animids to make the heads of their 
arrows. 

It is there also where that animal is found which has a bag OS purse below its chest, 
■where the little ones are carried, and out of wldcii they are not taken by their mothers 
except to be fed." 

The natives of America are generally thin and light, and run with great swiftness. 
Their ornaments consist of feathers of various (H)lors, and ot gems or stones which they 
hang, sometimes in great number, from Mieir ears and lips. Pearls and good gold, and 
ctliersiuuhu- things are mithing for them. When tliey give they are very liberal; but 
when they receive they are very avaricious. They cause themselves to be bled from the 
calf of the leg and from the loins. 

Some of tlunn bury (heir dead and place water and food in the graves. Some others 
place tl)eir dead, and even tliose who are dying, in some kind of net or hammock, which 
thoy suspend from the trees in the forests, and spend the whole day dancung around it. 

They worshiplhe sun, tlio moon and the stars. Their mansions are built in the shape 
of a bell, and are roofed wilh palm leaves. They have no wheat, but they grind the 
roots of some trees anil make breail out of them. 

This island is sittiated precisely in that part of tiie world, in whicli the sun sets for 
us, the {Herman people. Althougli it mayou o*ir map appear on the east, it is because of 
the necessities of the drawing. When the map (.as it is called) be properly rolled up, 
BOftstocause thoeciuinoctial line to form a perfect circle -the earth and the waters 



I'UiuJcA'i'ioN oi' I'll!'. 1)1S(()\t:uv. 151 

■whicli thn liiUor divides into two (jfi-i-iit, lUirtH to iipiii'iir round— Uion it will bo won that 
it i8 on tho woHt. 

Aniori(!n Iuih also Kovorul luljiuiont i»liind8, w, for inHtanco, tho Parian iHland, tho 
IsaboUa, whifli in uIho calliid ('uba, tlut lliHpaiiiohi in which tlio (iuaynco Ireo in found, 
tiio wood of wliicrli is UHod a8 a ronicdy aKaiimt syphiliH (inorlumi >jalli(Mini). 

Tiio nativi'H of tho lliMpaniola JHlaiid, iiiHtoad of umnn broad, food thonmolvoH with 
rootH and with laiKo Huakos. 

riabilH and wor.shii) in thoHo adjacent islandn luv Hiinilar to tlioHo of Aniorioa. 

630. The Cosmographiae of Peter Apianus. 

I'lihlislu'il ill 1.V29. Loaned l)y William ]'".. Curtis, \Vashin,i;'l<iii. 

This is one of the first books coiiceriiiiiL;- Aini'rica, and contains a 
revolviii}^ diagram ilhislrating the inoveiiu-nt of the earth, moon and 
stars upon a glol)e wliich l)ears the name Ameri. It also contains the 
first general description of America that was ever i)iiblislied. Peter 
Apiainis was ]i(iiii ill Saxony, 14i»r), and v.as iirofcssor in tlu' university 
for more tiiaii thirty years. 1 lis reward inr tiiis geography was the order 
of knighthuod IKim Charles V, and three thousand crowns. lie was the 
designer of tlie I'ailiest map that contains the name America. 

631. First allusion in English concerning America. 

Loaned by the Congressional Liluary, Washington. 

Tho first allusion to the newly-discovered world in the l^nglish lan- 
guage is found in a curious old book, entitled "Ye Shyppe of Looles," 
written by Richard Isden, and published l)y Sebastian lirant, in London, 
IT)!);). It was a satire intended to iidi( ule tin; |>revailing follies and vices 
of the agi-, under t he allegory of a ship freighted witii fools, and in the 
chapter "Of liyin that will wryte and eiKjuere of all regyons," occurs this 
jiassage: 

'J'h(« tiiurdo tho which(( in nnknowcnof pryHtcH tliat iiovor liad bon manyfostowas tho 
not foundo witii tlio oyo and not with tlio horlo. 'I'hcni whh 0110 that knowo that in yo 
ysloH of Sp:iyno was inhultytunlcH. Whoroforo ho aHkod mon of Kynt,'o Fordynandus 
and wontc* and fonndo tlioni, tlio whicho lyvod aw I)ooh(oh. 

There is only one copy of the original kiujwii, whi( h is in the National 
Lil)rary at Paris. ' 

About a year later, in a drama written by some unknown autlior, 
appears a description of "ilsvers strange ri'gyons and ol iiewe iouiide 
landys in y\merica." 

632. Title page of one of the first books printed about America concerning 

the discovery of Yucatan. 
Pul)lishe(l in l.VJ'J. 

633. The first three English books on America, 151 1 1555- 

lieing translations, compilations, etc., by Richard l''den, froin the 
writingsof Peter Martyr (li,>^) \lt2()), Sebastian Munster (14.S;) ITi.Vi) and 
Sebastian Cabot (1474 ir)57). 

Tiie first P'nglish book on America was entitled: 

Of the nowe landos and of ye pooide foundo by the niessengorH of (ho kynjjoof 



1^2 THE RELICS OF COLUMBUS. 

Portyngale named Emanuel. Of the x. dyuers nacyons crystened. Of Hope John and 
his landes and of the co3tely keyes and wonders molodyes that in that land is. 

Published at Antwerp in 1511. 

The second English book on America was entitled: 

"A treatise of tlie newe India, with other new founde landes and Hands, as well 
eaatwarde as westwards, as they are knowen and found in these oure dayes, after the 
description of Sebastian Munster in his boke of universall Cosmographie; wherein the 
diligent reader may see the good successe and rewarde of noble and honeste enterpryses , 
by the which not only worldly ryches are obtayned, but also God is glorified and the 
Christian fayth enlarged. 

Published in London, 1553. 

The third English book on America was entitled: 

The decades of the newe worlde or West India, conteynying thenauigationsand 
conquests of the Spanyardes, with the particular description of the most ryche and 
large landes and ilandcs lately founde in the west Ocean perteyning to the inheritance 
of the kinges of Spayne. In the which the dilligent reader may not only consider what 
commoditie may hereby chaunce to the hole Christian wc.id in tyme to come, but also 
learne many secreates touchynge the landd, the sea, and the etarres, very necessarie to 
be known to al such as shal attempte'any nauigations, or otherwise haue delite to be- 
holde the strange and wonderf uU woorkes of God and nature. 

Published in London, 1555. 

634. Oviedo's History of the Indies. 

Loaned by William E. Curtis, Washington, D. C. 

Gonzalez Fernandez de Oviedo y Valdez, who was born in 1478 and 
died in' 1557, was the author of a History of the Indies, published in 1525, 
and gained a great part of his information concerning the discovery 
from Columbus himself. At the age of thirteen he was appointed a 
page at court, and witnessed the reception of the admiral at Barcelona 
on his return from the newly found world. He crossed the Atlantic 
twelve times and resided in America nearly thirty-four years, holding 
various important official positions. 

Copies of the original edition of his history are found in the Congres- 
sional library at Washington, in the Lenox library at New York, the 
Carter Brown collection at Providence, and in Harvard College library. 

635. Two copies, etc., Novus Orbis Grynaeus. 

Published at Basle, 1532. Loaned by William E. Curtis, Washington. 

J®hn Huttich compiled this geography, but Simon Grynosus wrote the 
preface and got his name on the title page. He was one of the early 
reformers, a personal friend and associate of Luther, Calvin and Mel- 
ancthon, and the fortunate discoverer of the last five books of Livy. This 
is one of the most important historical works in existence, as it contains 
the first connected description of the three voyages of Columbus — pages 
90-118 — also the first connected description of the voyages of Americus 
Vespucius. The map is especially interesting, as it represents South 



PUBLICATION OF THE DISCOVERY. 1 53 

America as a very large island separated by a narrow strait from anothei 
large island called "Terra de Cuba" just east of Zipangi, which is Japan. 
The island of Hispaniola is just to the eastward. The map is sur- 
rounded by pictures of monsters which were seen by the early voyagers 
to the New World. 

636. Portrait of Bartholomew de Las Casas. 

The most famous of the historians of the time of Columbus was the 
Friar Bartholomew de Las Casas, who was born in 1474, died in 1566, 
and wrote the "Historia General de las Indias" in three volumes, which 
has never been published, but manuscript copies are to be found in the 
Lenox library. New York; the Congressional library at Washington, and 
the library of Harvard college. The father of Las Casas accompanied 
Columbus in 1492, and his narrative of that expedition was an abstract of 
the log book kept by the admiral during the voyage. Columbus also 
entrusted to him most of his papers. A translation of this narrative was 
published in English by Samuel Kettele, of Boston, in 1827. 

637. Cosmographise Universales, by Sebastian Munster. 

Published at Basle, 1554. This book is especially prized because of 
its maps. Loaned by William E. Curtis, Washington. 

638. Letter of Hernando de Soto to the justices and board of magistrates 

of Santiago de Cuba. 

Concerning his discoveries in Florida, July 9, 1539. Loaned by William 
E. Curtis, Washington. 

The Relacioii and Co7nentarios constitutes a doubly remarkable volume, 
each of its parts taking a primary rank in the annals of the New World. 
The Rclacion printed in 1555 for the second time, but of the first edition 
of which in 1542 only one copy is n«w extant, describes the wanderings 
of Cabeca de Vaca with the luckless survivors of the expedition that had 
set out in 1527 for the conquest of Florida (by which was meant all the 
region afterward known as Florida and Louisiana). It is the record of 
the first journey made by Europeans through the United States. Cabeca 
de Vaca and a few others who survived the shipwreck of the expedition, 
were seized by the Indians on the Mississippi coast and held in slavery 
for four years, but escaped and made their way inland across Texas and 
Sonora, or near to the inmost shore of the Gulf of California. Thence he 
and his three companions traversed the country southward, and suc- 
ceeded in reaching Mexico once more. On his return to Spain, 1537, 
having failed to get the governorship of Florida, which had been given 
to Soto, he obtained that oi the River Plata in 1540. He arrived in 
Uruguay in 1541, and proceeded to Asuncion, the capital of Paraguay, 
where Spanish authority was now seated, the site of Buenos Ayres having 



154 THE RELICS OF COLUMBUS. 

been abandoned. His work thenceforward was the exploration of the 
regions around the Paraguay and Parana, the concihation of the Indian 
tribes, and discovery of the route toward Peru. He was, however, made 
prisoner V:)y mutineers, and sent back to Spain in 1646. His secretary, 
Pedro Hernandez, wrote this narrative (which is the first printed account 
of the Plata region), to which is appended a Relacion made in 1545 by 
Hernando de Ribera, whom Cabeca de Vaca had sent on a journey of 
exploration northward up the River Paraguay. 

639. The narrative of Alvar Nunez Cabeca de Vaca. 

Printed at Valladolid, 1555, concerning the first exploration of the 
continent of North America from the coast of Florida to the city of 
Mexico. Loaned by Willian E. Curtis, Washington. 

640. The log book of Columbus. 

A translation of the journal of Columbus was published in English by 
Samuel Kettele, of Boston, in 1827. The manuscript of Las Casas' 
history was entrusted to the Dominican monks at Seville, with an injunc- 
tion not to permit any one to use them until forty years had elapsed; but 
when the time came to release it, the work had been forgotten, nor was it 
discovered until a century or more afterward. Since then no publisher 
has been found to undertake the work, although the Royal Academy of 
History at Madrid has several times announced an intention to do so. 

Las Casas was, however, the author of numerous other works concern- 
ing America, which have been published. 

641. Bibliotheca Americana. 

During the sixteenth century the literature concerning the New 
World became very voluminous, and Henry Harrisse, in his Bibliotheca 
Americana, mentions four hundred and fifty-four published works bear- 
ing on the subject. The first publication was a letter from Americus 
A^espucius, which appeared early in 1502. 

642. The burial place of Columbus. 

The official report of the government of Spain upon the dispute con- 
cerning the location of the remains of Columbus. 

643. Christopher Columbus and the Bank of St. George. 

By Henry Harrisse. Loaned by William E. Curtis, Washington. 

Intended to demonstrate the forgery of an autograph letter of Colum- 
bus offered for sale in 1888. This book was privately printed by the 
late S. L. M. Barlow, and contains a great deal of valuable information 
concerning Columbus that was never before published. 

644. Cartas de las Indias. 

Loaned by William E. Curtis. 

This book is a collection of documents, including valuable letters 
hitherto unpublished, from Columbus, Vespucius, Las Casas, Bernal 



PUBLICATION OF THE DISCOVERY. I55 

Diaz, Cortez and others, to officials and individuals in Spain during the 
latter part of the fifteenth and the early part of the sixteenth centuries, 
with biographical notes, fac-similes, charts, maps, etc. Published by the 
government of Spain in 1877. 

645. Columbus at Pavia. 

A publication by the faculty of the University of Pavia, Italy, 
intended to demonstrate that Columbus was once a student there. 
Loaned by William E. Curtis, Washington. 

646. The birthplace of Cofumbus. 

Loaned by William E. Curtis, Washington. 

This is a pamphlet of eighty-three pages with six plates attached to 
it, fully discussing the exact location of the two houses owned by Domi- 
nic Columbus in Stephen's Ward, Genoa. It proposes to show that the 
current belief that the house of his residence was built on the Molcento 
hill is erroneous, and that its true location was at the Boulevard de 
Ponticelli, near the gate of St. Andrea. It gives the whole history of 
that house, marked then "No. 37," and shows all the different owners 
through which it has passed up to the present days and explains what 
its arrangements were, etc. 

647. Stevens' American Bibliographer, containing a list of publications relat- 

ing to America, from the embarkation of Columbus in 1492 to the 
adoption of the Constitution of the United States in 1789. 
Loaned by William E. Curtis, Washington. 

648. Life of Columbus, by Aaron Goodrich of Minnesota. 

Entitled "A History of the Character and Achievements of the 
so-called Christopher Columbus. " It is intended to prove that Colum- 
bus was an impostor. Loaned by William E. Curtis, Washington. 

649. The memorials of Columbus. 

A collection of authentic documents translated into English. Loaned 
by William E. Curtis, Washington. 

650. Extracts from the National Intelligencer. 

Published at Washington, May 17, 1^1827, giving an account of the first 
voyage of Columbus to America. 

651. De Bry's Voyages. 

Loaned by the Department of State. 

One of the rarest books in American literature. Published in 1595 by 
Theodore De Bry of Antwerp. It contains the most elaborate engrav- 
ings of the New World ever published. 

652. De Bry's Voyages. 

Loaned by Thos. W. Keer, London- 



156 THE RELICS OF COLUMBUS. 

653. Munster's Cosmographiae, published at Basle, 1598, with twenty-six 

maps and several hundred wood cuts. 
Loaned by William E. Curtis, Washington. 

654. Manuscript atlas of the sixteenth century, beautifully illuminated on 

parchment. 

Loaned by Prince Stolberg, of Wernigerode, Germany. 

655. A book of the Memorable Events of Spain. 

By Maestro Pedro de Medina. Published in 1566. Loaned by R. W. 
Turner, U S. Consul, Cadiz, Spain. 

On page 64 is a map of the New World as it was then known. 

656. First Part of the Historical Notices of the Conquest of the West Indies 

and the Spanish Main, 

By Padre Fray Pedro Simon, 1626. Loaned by R. W. Turner, U. S. 
Consul, Cadiz, Spain. 

657. John Ogilby's History of America, 1671. 

Loaned by William E. Curtis, Washington, D. C. 

One of the first books in English on the New World, containing many 
remarkable engravings, including a picture of New York, probably the 
iirst that was ever printed. 

658. Manuscript volume in German dated 1736. 

Relating the adventures of a party of emigrants from Salzberg, Ger- 
many, to Georgia in the year 1735. Loaned liy Prince Stolberg, of 
Wernigerode, Germany. 

659. Title-page of first book printed in America, 1555. 

Molina's Mexican Dictionary, jirinted in the city of Mexico sixty years 
before any book was printed in what is now the United States. 

660. The smallest book ever published. 

An almanac for the year 1841. Illustrated by the Hon. Mrs. Norton. 
Published ])y A. Schloss, London. Loaned by Thos. W. Keer, London. 

661. Illustrations from the Americae Retectio. 

662. List of early publications concerning Columbus. 

663. Fac-simile of a letter from Americus Vespucci concerning his third 

voyage. 

Published in Florence, 1505. 



THE CHRISTENING OF THE CONTINENT. 1 57 



SECTION M. THE CHRISTENING OF THE CONTINENT, HOW 
THE NEWLY-DISCOVERED WORLD RECEIVED THE NAME 

AMERICA.* 



670. Portrait of Americus Vespucius. 

Loaned by F>ancis Colton, of Washington, D. C, by whom it was 
purchased at Venice about 1860, from an ancient Italian collection. 
Believed to be from life. 

The man whose name was given to the western hemisphere is 
referred to in contemporaneous writings as Alhericus, Emeric, Alberico, 
Americo, Morigo, Amerigo, Almerigo and Americus. His surname is 
given as Espuche, Vespuche, Desi)ucchi, Vespuccio, Vespucci. 
Christopher Columbus, in a letter to his son Diego, in February, 1505, 
writes of him as Vespuchy, He was the son of a notary at Florence, 
and came from a large and influential family. A hospital founded by 
his ancestors is still standing. He was educated by his uncle, a learned 
friar, and Peitro Soderini, Gonfalonier of Florence from 1502 to 1512, to 
whom one of his letters was addressed, and King Rene, of Lorraine. 

671. Portrait of Americus Vespucius, painted from life by Bronzino, an 

Italian artist and pupil of Michael Angelo. 

Owned by Mr. Josei^h L). McGuire, of Ellicott City, Maryland. Pur- 
chased by his father about the year 1850 from Mr. C. Edwards Lester, 
for many years Consul of the United States at Genoa. 

672. Letter from Americus Vespucius to his father. 

Vespucius, like Columbus, was a [jrolific writer, and being a man of 
fine education his accounts of his voyages and descriptions of the i)laces 
visited are more intelligently presented than those of other voyagers of 
his day. His narratives were addressed chiefly to his former fricntls and 
patrons in Italy, who had them printed, and they were more widely cir- 
culated than those of Columbus. At least twenty editions were pub- 
lished between 1502 and 1508 in the Latin, Italian, German and Dutch 
languages, at Florence, Rome, Venice, Antwerp, Nuremburg, Saint Die, 
Leipsic, Strassburg, Basle and Paris, and it was in the edition issued at 
Saint Die, in 1507, that the name of America was suggested for the New 
World. It has been demonstrated beyond a doubt, however, that 
Americus never knew, or believed, or expected, that he was to be thus 

*For the original photographs from which theso ilhistrations of St. Die were made, and the 
descriptivo text of this cataU)fj;iie referrinjj to tliem, the author is indebted to Captain Frank 
H. Mason, U. S. Consul at Frankfort, Germany, 



158 THE RELICS OF COLUMBUS. 

immortalized ; and altlunigli for four centuries he has becu anathema- 
tized as an impostor and a thief, so ableand disinterested an authority as 
Baron vou Humbolilt has, after an investigation of years, absolved him 
entirely from all attempts to rob Columbus of the honor and glory that 
to him belonged. 

Nothing is known of Americas Vespucius until 1495, when, as manager 
of the house Juanoto Berardi at Seville, he obtained a contract for the 
supplies for the third voyage of Columbus, receiving from the treasury 
of Spain on the ISth of January, 1496, the sum of 10,000 maravedis. He 
was in Portugal from 1501 until 1505. Then he returned to Spain, and 
with a letter of introduction from Columbus repaired to the court of 
King Ferdinand, who employed him in fitting out fleets for the Indies. 
In 1506 he was associated with Juan de la Cosa, the famous pilot of 
Columbus, in an expedition. In 1508 he was made chief pilot of the 
Indies, and was given a salary equivalent to about $2,000 a year. He 
died at Seville in 1512, highly respected, but never dreaming that he had 
visited a new continent which was forever to bear his name. Like 
Columbus, he always suppt)sed the newly discovered lands were the 
islands or coast of India tu- Japan. 

673a. Petition from the descendants of Americus Vespucius for a pension 

from the United States. 

While Mr. Edward Lester was Ignited States Consul at Genoa he formed 
an acquaintance with the family of Americus Vespucius, and undertook 
to secure for them a ]iension from Ct)ngress and a grant of land. Some 
years before Elena \'espucci, one of the descendants, came to Washing- 
ton and presented a i)etition for the same purpose, but her efforts were 
futile. The other surviving descendants, however, presented in 1850 
through Mr. Lester a petition asking: 

1. Thiit the Consress of tlio Uuited Statos fj;raut to them and their descendants the 
right of citizonsliip. 

2. That Confjross grant them p sufficient tract of land to enable them "to maintain 
with respectability the name of their ancestor, of wliich tiiey are so proud. 

The petition concludes with the following words: 

The remarkable events wliich have of late years convulsed Europe, and destroyed 
the estates of so many ancient families, have also wrecked the fortunes of the Vespucci 
race. They are at present reduced to poverty, though they yet hope for better fortunes 
through the geuerixsity of the great American people. 

(Signed) AMERIGO VESPUCCI, 

ELIZA VESPUCCI, 
TERESA VESPUCCL 

Congress failed to act upon tlic petition, but the family, as a mark of 
gratitude, presented Mr. Lester witli the i»orirait which had descended 
from generation to generation, and he disposed of it to Mr. J. C. Mc- 
Guire, of Washington, after repeated attempts to sell it to the govern- 



THE CHRISTENING OF THE CONTINENT. 



159 



ment. Documents to show the frenuineness of the portrait were depos- 
ited in the Library of Congress, where they still remain. 
673b. Report of the Committee on Claims of the United States Senate 
against granting a pension to the descendants of Americus Vespucius. 
674. Title page of the book that named America. 

In the lirst edition of April 2.5th the title page is thus arranged: 



"1 



COSMOGR.APHIAE INTRODVCTIO/ 
CVM OViBVSDAM 
GEOMETRJAO 
AC 

ASTEiONO ' 
MIAF I'RINCIPIIS 
AD EAM REM NECESSARHS 

Infupcr quatuor Amend Ve# 
fpucij nauigatioiics. 

Vniucrfali-; Cbofmogr.iphix dcfrriptiA 
tain fii fo'.kio qs pi a 1 10 'CIS ctiam 
iiifcrtH quj Ptholomjo 
ignotaanupcris 
Ifcpctr.v 
tuiiu 



DISnCHON 

Cum dfus aRra rcoat, 8^ tertx dimata CxCax 
Net ccUus ncc ds fydcra matus habcnc 



From Hurper's Mnpizino.— Copyright, 1895, by Harper A Rrothers. 

675a. Original copy of the first edition of the book that christened America. 

Loaned by Charles F. Gunther, Chicago. 

For more than three centuries Vespucci rested under the disgrace of 
having usurped the title of the lands which Columbus discovered. It 
was not until 1837 that Alexander von Himiboldt pointed out the real 
culprit and showed that the name America was first suggested by a par- 
agrai)h in a small Latin treatise written by Martin Waldseemuller, and 
iniblished during the year 1507 at Saint Die, a village in southeastern 
Lorraine. This little book was entitled, "Cosmographia; Introductio,' 



l60 THE RF.LICS OF COLUMBUS. 

"The Rudiments of geography," and the story of its authorship and pub- 
lication, and the unforeseen part it played in christening the western 
hemisphere, forms one of the most curious and fascinating narratives in 
the whole record of bibliography. 

The manuscript of "Cosmographia;" was begun during tlie summer of 
lAOG, within a month, it may be, of the day when Christopher Columbus, 
already poor, neglected and discredited at court, was laid in his humble 
gra\e. It was finished during the following winter, and the first edition 
was i)ublislicd on the "VTI Kalend, May, 1507," which corresponds under 
the Gregorian calendar to the 25111 of April in that year. The success of 
the enterprise was immediate and cxtraoronuu y. F-.mr editions of the 
"Cosmogra[)hi;r" were pul)lislied at Saint Die within less than five 
months, two bearing the date of April 25th, as above stated, and two more 
marked the "ill Kalends Septembris," which corresponds to the 29th of 
- August. The title is as follows: 

Introduction to Cosmography, to^otlier with somoprinriplns of (icomctry necessary 
to tho purpose. Also fjur voyasos (naviKiitinncs) of Ainoricus Vospiieius. A descrip- 
tion of univorsal Cosmosraphy, both stprnonictrical r.nd planomt trical, together with 
wl'.at wiis unknown to Ptolemy and lias been recently discov; red. 

Distich. Neither tlie earth nor tlio stars possess anything greater than God or 
C.TDsar, for the God rules the stars and Caesar the climes of tlio earth. 

676. View of the old monastery at Saint Die, where was written the book 

that christened America. 

Among the inmates of the monastery the three most notable were the 
poet Pierre de Blarru, Jean Basin, an accomplished linguist, and Wal- 
tier or Gautrin Lud, director of the mines of Lorraine and secretary to 
Duke Rene II, the sovereign of the province and one of the most 
enlightened princes of his time. To these were subsecpiently added 
Martin WaldseemuUer and Matthias Ringman, both of whom were dis- 
tinguished as linguists, geographers and devotees of science and letters. 

677. Fac-simile of the page that named America. 

Under the ninth title, " Dc quibusdam cosmographicc rudhfunds" the 
author who has been describing Europe, Asia and Africa as three 
climates or grand divisions of the globe, as designated by Ptolemy, 
abruptly launches the following proposition: 
AMEKICO. Nunc vero and hecimrtos sunt latins lustrat.-c ot alia quarta pars per 

America Vesputium (Vt in sequentibus audietur) inveuta est-qua non video cur 

quis inre vetet nb Americo inventoro sagacis ingenij viro Amerigen quasi Americi 

terram sive Americam discendam-cum Europa et .\8ia a mulioribus sua fortita sint 

nomina. 

Which in English reads: 

But now that tliese parts liave been more widely explored, and another fourth part 



THE CHRISTENING OF THE CONTINENT. 



I6l 



discovered by Americas Vespucius (as will be seen hereafter) , I do not see why we 
should quietly refuse to name it America, namely, the land of Americas or America, 
after its discoverer Americas, a man of sagacious mind, since both Europe and Asia 
derived their names from women. 



COSMOGRPHfAB 

CApadod.im'Pamnhili.i.m.LiJi.tin/Cilici.i/AnTic 
nil', Hi.iKut'X iiv.iioiv.L'o'idii..!cn-Hircaiuain'Hi> 
bci ism/ Alb.uii i:ct pi'ccciJi rn!"t.i; qiias fins^ilatiin 
eiMinicrarcIoiiQAmora cllcr.lta ^i;c" < jl^ tiu'^ iionii 



N u c '/-o cvT ii c p ,t !■ : ' - 1 1 1 .-: t ' 
quaitj p.ivs po) An-, i K.i \\-; 
b\M aiulicnir liuirsua cir qui 
i',;i\- \ i.-U'( ,;ti AriLii;-.' inu'cr.toi\ 



Am CI 



Prifcij 
nus. 



. :■• I'.ilri u,r cvalu 
'uca: % t 111 Icqvicnci 
noi'. \ idco cur quis 
' lagacis inocni) vi 
lo AirViuvi': ■i.'.iili AinkTiui un i luic Amcricam 
Jic.-;- I 1 c.'i .V ] uMiis A' Ali.i aInu'l^.■^l•.u^ lua for" 
tua liiii iM>ir.i!ia.l:ur-, lau ^v'gi-nns more-; cxbijbi 
iiis Amcii.i iiau;gatioiubus qu.r Icquunt liquuic 
iiucHigi vlatur. , 

HuiiriiiinoJurcr; -li'ani quaJi^narrita coqiiO:^ 
ftiiiVi iunr ti-i.-<! prune panciconncncciiquaitai-lc 
,inlula:<.u otniii quaq? man circuJara coiifpiciac.Et 
licet in DC s-afi ficqucadmoJuct iplatcHus/inultis 
taincuiiiubusdiftmcJtuin.^C inmiincris rcplctum 
inUihs \-aria fibi iiofa airamit :quc cr in Cofinogra 
Y>h\x tabulis colpiciuiu, &r Pnfcianiis i;i tralanonc 
nioiiiri) talibiisciiuincrat vcrlibus. "■ 
Circuit Occini gurgcs tameii vndicj? vaftus 
(^ui q'niis vnus fit pkiriiiia nomiiiafitmit, 
Fiiiibus Hcfjjcrrjs AthlannaisiUe\'ocan.it . 
At Borcc qua gem furit Armiafpa fuh armis 
I.T>icic illc pigcr uccuS Satlir.idc Mortiius eft alijs; 



From Harper 



Magazine. Cupyright, 1S92, by Harper & Drotlicrs. 

The page that named America. 



"But for these nine lines," says Harrisse," written by an obscure geog- 
rapfier in a little village of the Vosges, the western hemisphere might 
have been called ' The Land of the Holy Cross,' or ' Atlantis," or 
'Columbia,' ' Hesperides,' or 'Iberia,' 'New India,' or simply 'The 
Indies,' as it is designated officially in Spain to this day." 

As it was, however, the suggestion of Hylacomylus was immediately 
adopted by geographers everywhere; the new land beyond the Atlantic 
had, by a stroke? of a pen, been christened for all time to come, 



1 62 



THE RELICS OF COLUMBUS. 



678. 
679. 



Copy of September edition of the Cosmographiae Introductio. 

Loaned by James W. Ellsworth, of Chicago, Illinois. 
Copy of the September edition. 

Loaned by F. Baer, Frankfort, Germany. (For sale.) 




Finitu.vrj.kKMarj 
Anno fuprafefqui 
miUefimum.vrj. 

From Harper's Maeazine.— Copyright 
189'J, by Harper & Brothers. 

Coi3y of the September edition. 
680. Saint Die in the tenth century. The place 
christened. 



where America was 




681. 



From Harper's M.'igazine, Copyright, 1S3L\ by Harper & Brothers. 

General view of the town of Saint Die, France, where America was 

christened. 

The village of Saint Die (Urbs Deodati) was founded about the year 
660 A. D., by Saint Deodate, ex-Bishop of Nevers, who resigned his 
bishropic and retired to a plea^Stl^t valley on the headwaters of the 



THE CHRISTENING OF THE CONTINENT. 



163 



R ver Meurthe. Here he founded a chapel which he named "Galilee " 
1 he chapel m time expanded to a church, was christened Notre Dame 
and around It was built a powerful monastery with beetling walls and 
enarcling moat, a citadel of refuge and defense for the followers of the 

683. Medallion portrait of King 
Rene II, of Lorraine, un- 
der whose patronage 
America was christened. 

Under the patronage of 
Duke Rene a society of 
learned and inquiring men 
was constituted, which, about 
the beginning of the six- 
teenth century, were associ- 
ated at Saint Die for mutual 
inspiration and assistance 
under the title of "Gymnase 
Vosgien," or Academy of the 
Vosges. 

From Harper's Magazine. — CopynVht, 1892, by Harper & Brothers. 

684. Portrait of Duke Rene Kino- «f t ^'"rtrait of King Kene. 

auspices A,n„icawas ctSenei ^"^ '"' ^'""' """^ ^"^'^ 

of shi„inTrenow ;„ an al' wh°' ' " ->>""";--■ PaTio. but a soldier 
tifl.. ,„ ( A , ^ ™ prowess on the iield was tlie one surp 

q er Chant Z bZ 1 1 '""= °' ''°'''' ^''' '"^ '^'^^^"^^ '^'^^ 

uciuic me walls ot Nancy, in the year 1477 tnd tVi^^^ i. * u 

rrrtt^bidyTo 'T "^^^ ''r'- ^ -- ^^^^^^Z 

Ren?gave his fall '' "'' '""^ ""°"^ ^^^ ^^^^'^ of the flg^ht. 

remainrr o ' his m^ t^J ir''^'^^''' '""^'' '^"^ ^^^--^'•- 
repairing the fortunes o hi w^"^' ^^^Vr°""^'"''"' "^ ^^"™'"^ ^"^ to 
his epitaph tells us th!t ^va,-wasted province. He died in 1508. and 
letters ' he loved but three things-justice, peace and 




l64 THE RELICS OF COLUMBUS. 

685. Enlarged fac-similes of coins of the time of Rene II. 

It was the custom for learned men in those times to conceal their per- 
sonal identity under a classical pseudonym, and accordingly the young 
graduate at Freiburg assumed a Greco-Latinized rendition of his some- 
what archaic family name and called himself Martinus Hylacomylus. 
That is to say, the German Wald-see-muUer (miller of the lake-in-the- 
woods) was converted into a combination of the Greek words Hyle 
(forest) and mylos (miller). 

686. Equestrian portrait of King Rene II of Lorraine, under whose patron- 

age America was christened. 

687. Cloister of the Cathedral at Saint Die. 

The rc;il authors of the Cosmographiii; were Martin WaldscemuUer 
and his learned and ctevoted assistant Matthias Ringman. Of the family 
and antecedents of Waldseemuller little is known beyond the fact that 
his parents lived in Freiburg, where Martin was born about 1481, and on 
the 7th of December, 1490, was enrolled by Rector Conrad Knoll as a 
primary student in the university of that town. It was the custom for 
learned men in those times to conceal their personal identity under a 
classical pseudonym, and accordingly the young graduate at Freiburg 
assumed a GrecoT^atinized version of his family name and called him- 
self "Martinus Hylacomylus." At what date he first went to Saint Die 
can only be conjectured. It was apparently in 1504 or 1505, at which 
time he was in his twenty-second or twenty-third year. He was then an 
accomplished Greek and Latin scholar, a skillful mathematician and 
draughtsman, and was inspired and excited by the geographical discov- 
eries which were then reconstructing men's ideas of the physical globe. 
The pious members of the Vosgian Gymnase, whose proposed revision 
of Ptolemy was to be based on the original Greek text, apparently 
engaged for the work of revision the young secular, who, being fresh 
from the university lectures, would possess all the latest information. 

688. Interior of church of Notre Dame, Saint Die, France. 

The cathedral with its excjuisite Gothic cloisters and pretty outdoor 
reading pulpit facing the quadrangle, the petite Eglise archaic in its 
simplicity but pure in style as a Grecian temple, encircled by the citadel 
walls of red sandstone softened and enriched in color by th.e storm and 
sunshine of centuries, all remain stately and beautiful as ever; but the 
Chapitre is no longer supreme, and a modern Protestant church, with its 
neatly slated spire and cushioned j)ews, stands near the center of the 
town, to mark the foothold of a new faith. 

689. View of Saint Die. 

In the Municipal Library of Saint Die there is preserved as its most 



THE CHRISTENING OF THE CONTINENT. 



165 



precious possession a magnificent illuminated volume— the Graduel or 
Lectern, containing the plain song of the various offices and ceremo- 
nials of the Chapitre for the entire year. U is enriched with hundreds of 
miniatures, illuminated initials, painted margins and colophons, which 
illustrate many interesting phases of the history of Saint Die, as well as 
its industries, political vicissitudes and the social conditions which pre- 
vailed in that community during the period of the Vosgien Gymnase. 
690. Portrait of Gautrin Lud, the founder of Gymnase Vosgien, which christ- 
ened America. Director-general of the mines at Saint Die, 1494-1512. 

Gautrin Lud, tl f ■' 

founder and contra 1 
ling spirit of the Gyr 
nase, was born 
Saint Die about tl 
year 1448. He can 
from wealthy and d 
tinguished stock, 1: 
mother J e a n n e t 
d'Ainveau being 
daughter of one of tl 
nolilest families i 
Lorraine, and t 
father a soldier of d 
tinction in the servL_ 
of the king. 

691 . Pharmacia B a r d y , 

Saint Die. On the 

site of the house 

where the Cosmo- 

graphia was printed. 

The art of printing with movable types was hardly fifty years old, 
printing facilities were everywhere limited, and in order to carry out its 
plans the Gymnase needed a press and type of its own. Here the wealth 
and enterprise of Gautrin Lud came to the rescue. In 1494 that liberal 
prelate had set up in his own house in the principal street of Saint Die a 
rude printing machine, with a font of large, round-faced type. 

692. Town of Saint Die. View from the southward. 

Modern Saint Die is a thriving town of nearly twelve thousand people, 
who are engaged mainly in weaving, spinning, tanning and various in- 
dustries connected with the manufacture and consumption of pine lum- 
ber, which grows abundantly in that picturesque region. It is the 




From Harper's Maeazine.— Copyright. 1892, by Harper & Brothers. 

Portrait of Gautrin Lud. 



i66 



THE RELICS OF COLUMBU$. 



terminus of a railway which was originally laid out from Luneville tO 
Markirch in Alsace, but which stopped abruptly at Saint Die, where the 
events of 1870- drew the new frontier of Germany across its path. 



693. House of Jean Basin, 
Saint Die, where 
the Cosmographiae 
Introductio, which 
named America, was 
translated. 
The house of Jean 
Basin was partially de- 
stroyed by fire in 1554, 
, but the walls and lower 
portions remained in- 
tact, so that the struct- 
ure was re-built, or 
rather restored, with 
exactly its original 
form and dimensions; 
and in that condition 
it exists to-day, the 
most perfectly pre- 
served domicile that 
remains from the 
Gvmnase \'osgien. 



694. Coat-of-arms of Gautrin Lud, St. 
Die. 

In his cajiacity as director-gen- 
eral of mines, Lud adopted a special 
coat-of-arms, bearing as a device 
the implements of mining on a 
shield supported by two kneeling 
figures, one in the costume of a 
laborer, the other in that of master. 




From Harpi 



r'9 M:i._'iiiine —ropyrisht, Isil-.', by 
Harper A Brothers. 



695. Ancient blacksmith shop at Saint Die. 

The Gvmnase concluded to publish a revision of the geography of 



THE CHRISTENING OF THE CONTINENT. 



167 



iJiiniTiitmiiinwiTminin rnnm 



Ptolemy, and add as an appendix the full text of Vespucius' narrative, 
which was then not only the latest and most complete, but the only 
written account that had been received in central Europe of the newly 
discovered lands beyond the sea. 

696. Printing the Cosmographiae Introductio at Saint Die. 

From an old print. 

697. Matthias Ringman, member of the Gymnase Vosgien, who carried from 

Paris to Saint Die the letter of Americus Vespucius, which, when trans- 
lated, christened the New World. 
Ringman was from 
all accounts a man of 
extraordinary zeal ami 
versatility. Of his fam- 
ily nothing is known, 
but his parents must 
have been in comfort- 
able circumstances to 
afford him the thor- 
ough education he re- 
ceived. He was bon 
in 1482, near the mon- 
astery of Paeris, in the 
valley of the Vosges. 
About the year 1500, 
when the discoveries 
of Columbus, Cabot 
and Alonzo de Ojeda 
had set the educated 
world aflame, Ring- 
man shared in the 
enthusiasm and took 
up a thorough course 
in mathematics and 
cosmography. He 
studied at Paris until 
1503, when, at the age 
of twenty-one, he re- 
turned to Strassburg, 
bringing with him a 
copy of the memorable letter which Americus Vespucius had written 
from Cape Verde in June, 1501, to his patron Lorenzo de Medici, at 
Florence, giving a somewhat superficial account of his third voyage of 




Harper's Magazine— Copyright, ISilS, by Harper i Br. 

Portrait of Matthias Ringman. 



i68 



THE RELICS OF COLUMBUS. 




From H!iipei 's Maeaziiie — Copy- 
right, 1892, liv Harper & Brothere. 

Jean Basiu. 



discovery. This letter had been translated from Italian into French and 
a smaller edition published at Pans. The letter was a mere sketch, but 
contained so much that was new and interesting that Ringman 
translated it into Latin and published it in pamphlet form at Strassburg 
in August, 1503. 

698. Portrait of Jean Basin. 

Jean Basin, of Sandaucourt, the second mem- 
ber of the Gymnase, was, like Gautrin Lud, a 
canon of the Chapitre of Saint Die, and a 
classical scholar of unusual attainments. His 
leisure hours were devoted to literature. He 
was wealthy and luxurious, and inhabited a 
handsome canonical residence which stood at 
.the northwest corner of a block or irregular 
group of buildings, of which the house of Gau- 
trin Lud, with its printing-office, formed the 
southeast or diagonally opposite corner. 

699. View of the River Meurthe at Saint Die. 

700. Citadel of Saint Die, France. 

701. Portrait of Laurent Piladius, member of the 

Gymnase Vosgien of Saint Die, France. 

702. Exterior of Church of Notre Dame, Saint Die, France. 

703. House at Saint Die, where America was christened. 

704. Entrance to monastery at St. Die. 

A copy of the Strassburg edition of the Cosmographias Introductio 
found its way in 1524 to the library of Fernando Columbus, son of the 
great admiral, at Seville, where it became one of the favorite volumes 
of that renowned collector- of rare and interesting books. Fernando 
Columbus was an inveterate traveler, and from his copious notes writ- 
ten on the margin and fly-leaf of the Cosmographias, he would seem to 
have read it mainly for the information that it gave on the geogra- 
phy and climate of Europe, and to have overlooked or ignored the 
rank injustice which it offered to the memory of his father. Fernando 
had this book in his possession during the fifteen years preceding his 
death in 1539, and the fact that he did not in his famous " History of 
Christopher Columbus " denounce the Cosmographiie and its author, is 
held by M. Harrisse and other experts to prove that the history attrib- 
uted to Fernando was not actually written by him or within his knowl- 
edge. 

705. Exterior walls of old monastery at Saint Die. 

706. River Meurthe, near Saint Die. 



THE CHRIST£N1NG OF THE CONTINENT. I69 

'707. Another view of house of Jean Basim 

708. Death of the Virgin, from the Graduel of Saint Die. 

709. Purification of the Virgin, from the Graduel of Saint Die. 

710. Page from the Graduel showing methods of mining in the sixteenth 

century. 

711. Portrait of Saint Die, from the Graduel. 

712. Tanneries along the River Meurthe, Saint Die. 

713. Photograph of an old house in Saint Die. 

714. Ancient Roman temple, Saint Die. 

715. Statue of Americus Vespucius. 

By Gra7,zini, in the Uffizi Gallery, Florence. 

716. Portrait of Sebastian Munster, one of the earliest geographers, 

717. Fac-simile of the title page of one of the first books about America. 



MAPS AND CHARTS SHOWING THE PROGRESS OF CIVILIZA- 
TION AND THE GROWTH OF GEOGRAPHICAL KNOWLEDGE. 

727. Map representing North America as a collection of islands, and showing 

portion of South America from Venezuela to Rio Cananea, Brazil. 
A. D. 1500. 

728. Map showing the Antilles and the mainland from Honduras to Cape 

Santa Maria, Uruguay. 

By Vincent Majolo. A. D. 1508. 

729. Map from the Venetian edition of Ptolemy. 1511. 

730. Map showing portion of Florida, West Indies, Yucatan, Isthmus of 

Panama and Spanish Main. A. D. 1517. 

731. Map of the w^orld. From 1520 edition of Ptolemy. 

732. Map published in 1532, showing the West Indies and a portion of North 

America. 

Original inCryna^us Neuvus Orbis. 

733. Map showing east coast of America from Hudson bay to Tierra del 

Fuego. A. D. 1532. 

734. Map showing portions of east and west coasts of America, Straits of 

Magellan, the Pacific Ocean and a portion of the south coast of Asia. 
A. D. 1532. 

735. Map of the New World, drawn by the pilot Maiesta Cesarea, 1534. 

Original in Lenox litn-ary, New York. 



lyd THfi RELICS OF COLUMBUS. 

736. Map of the world. From 1538 edition of Ptolemy. 

Original in the possession of J. C. Brevoort. 

737. Map showing Iceland, Greenland and Labrador. A. D. 1542. 

738. Map of America. From the Cosmographiae of Petri Apiani, 1545. 

739. Map of the world. From Ptolemy's Geographiae. Venice edition, 1548, 

740. Map of Mexico and Central America. From 1548 edition of Ptolemy's 

geography. 

741. Map of South America. From 1548 edition of Ptolemy's geography. 

742. Map of the world. From Munster's Cosmographiae Universales, Basle, 

1554- 

743. Map of the American hemisphere. From Munster's Cosmographiae 

Universales, Basle, 1554. 

744. Map of California and west coast of Mexico. By Vaz Dourado. 

A. I). 1571. 

745. Map of South America from Isthmus of Panama to thirty degrees south 

latitude. By Vaz Dourado. A. U. 1571. 

746. Map of South America from thirty degrees south latitude to Tierra del 

Fuego. By Vaz Dourado. A. D. 1571. 

747. Map of Atlantic coast of North America from eighty degrees north lati- 

tude to Ne-w Brunsw^ick. By Vaz Dourado, 1571. 

748. Map of Atlantic coast of America from New Brunswick to the Amazon 

river. By ^'az Dourado, 1571. 

749. Map of Atlantic coast of North America from forty-eight degrees north 

latitude to Yucatan. By Thomas Hood. A. D. 1592. 

750. Map of the western hemisphere. From De Bry's \'oyages, 1595. 

751. Map of the West Ipdies, Florida and northern part of South America. 

From De Bry's Voyages, 1595. 

752. Map of the earth. From De Bry's Voyages, 1595. 

753. Map of Virginia by Sir Walter Raleigh, 1585. 

From De Bry's Voyages, 1595. 

754. Map of Virginia, 1595. From De Bry's Voyages. 

It was in 1584 that Sir Walter Raleigh obtained a charter for the col- 
onization of Virginia, and the next year sent out some colonists (who 
were rescued and returned by Sir Francis Drake), and in 1587 another 
which was never heard from afterward. 

755. Map of the Orinoco and Amazon rivers, showing the discoveries of 

Sir Walter Raleigh. From a Dutch geography, 1595. 

Raleigh's first voyage to the mouth of the Orinoco was in the year 1595, 



IrME CHRISTENING OF THE CONTINENT. I7I 

with five ships, aUhough he had sent out an expedition to reconnoitre 
the year previous. He ascended the river to the gold region, but 
returned to England without result, again making a voyage in 1516, 
without finding gold. 

756. Map of America. From Description of America by Henrici Seile, 1652. 

757. Map of Virginia. From Ogilby's History of America, 1671. 

The author of this work was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, in the year 
1600, and died in London, 1676. In 1671 he published nine volumes of a 
very curious and valuable "Geography of the World," one specially 
descriptive of America. 

758. Map of the Chesapeake Bay. From Ogilby's History of America, 1671. 

759. Map of the Atlantic coast states, 1673. 

760. Map of Virginia, 1673. 

761. Map of North America, 1594. Made for the Duke of Burgundy. 

762. One of the earliest maps concerning America. 

763. Ancient Dutch map showing Greenland and eastern shore of the New 

World. Two ]iarts. 

764. Illuminated Spanish missal of the fifteenth century. From a monas- 

tery in the interior of Peru. Loaned by William E. Curtis. 

765. Illuminated Spanish missal. From a monastery in the interior of Peru. 

766. Map of the World. Made by order of King Henry II of France, 1546. 

767. Map of the World of the sixteenth century. Made by Sebastian Cabot, 

Chief Pilot for Ch irles V, first part of the sixteenth century. 

768. Map of the World of the fourteenth century. By the brothers Psigani. 

769. Map of the World of the thirteenth century. Original in Cathedral at 

Hereford, England. Made by a Monk of Lincoln, in 1300. 

770. Map of the World. By Gerard Mercator, Duisbourg, 1569. 



172 THE RELICS OF COLUMBUS. 



SECTION N. CONQUEST OF MEXICO AND PERU AND THE 
SETTLEMENT OF OTHER PORTIONS OF AMERICA. 



801. Montezuma, Emperor of Mexico. 

From Montanus. 

Montezuma, the last of the Aztec emperors, was horn ahout 1480, suc- 
ceeded his uncle, Amitzotl, in 1602, and was killed June 30, 1480. He 
was hoth a soldier and a priest. On the arrival of Cortez in Mexico, in 
1519, lie at first forbade the white men to approach his capital, l)ut after- 
ward sent an embassy to welcome them. He received Cortez with 
courtesy, but a collision between the Mexicans and Spaniards took 
place, and Cortez tuck advantage of it and seized Montezuma. Monte- 
zuma was for awhile jnit in irons and completely humiliated. In June, 
1620, an insurrection arising, the people besjcged the Spaniards, and 
Cortez induced Montezuma to address his subjects front the battlements 
of his prison; but his appeals in behalf of the white men exasperated the 
Mexicans, who discharged a shower of missiles at him, and he fell 
senseless, struck in the temple by a stone. He refused all remedies and 
nourishment, tore off the bandages, and died in a few days. 

802. Portrait of Hernando Cortez, Conqueror of Mexico. 

Loaned by the Spanish government. (In the chapel.) 
Cortez, the conc]uerer of Mexico, was born at Medellin, S])ain, in the year 
1486, sent to the University of Salamanca, but returned 1501 to his home, 
preferring a life of adventure, and went to Santo Domingo in 1504, 
where he gained the favor of thegovernor.Ovando, and received reparti- 
mientos of Indians. In 1511 he accomi)anied Diego Velasquez to Cuba, 
where he became alcade of St. Jago, and in 1618 was appointed to the 
command of the expedition fitted out by Velasquez for the exploration of 
Mexico. He landed on the coast of Mexico in March, 1519, finally 
reaching the site of the present Vera Cruz, where he burned his ships 
and prepared to march into the interior, having resolved to conquer the 
kingdom of Montezuma, of whose power and riches he heard glowing 
reports. With an insignificant army, but whicli had an advantage over 
the natives in possessing firearms and defensive armor, he advanced 
through hostile territory to the valley of Mexico, where he first saw the 
opulent city of the Aztecs and was received with pomj) by Montezuma. 
Fortifying himself in one of the palaces of the city, he finally secured 
the person of Montezuma, and eventually brouglit al)out his death during 



THE CONQUEST OF MEXICO AND PERU. I/j 

an insurrection, in which the Spaniards were driven from the city, losing 
the flower of their army. But on the phiin of Otumba Cortez gains a 
victory and saved his troops from annihilation, forming a junction with 
the Tlascalans, enemies of the Aztecs, with the assistance of whom he 
returned to the siege of the city of Mexico, which, after a desperate 
defense of several months, was taken with great slaughter of its inhab- 
itants in August, 1521. Charles V appointed him governor-general of 
Mexico and marquis of Oaxaca, antl his con([uest of the country became 
complete. In 1536 he discovered the peninsula of California, and in 1541 
he went with Charles V to Algiers, where he served in that disastrous 
expedition; but this was his last appearance in battle. He died in com- 
parative poverty in 1554, near Seville. 

803. Fac-simile of the sword of Cortez. 

Original in the Royal Armory, Madrid. 

804. Hernando Cortez before Montezuma. 

Cortez endeavored to persuade Montezuma to take up his residence 
in the Spanish quarters, and the King fearing that he would be detained 
as a prisoner, declined. Marina, the Indian mistress and interpreter of 
Cortez, besought him to do so, but after two hours' discussion Velasquez 
de Leon, impatient of delay, drew his sword and cried out: "Why do 
we waste words on this barbarian. We have gone too far to recede 
now. Let us seize him, and if he resists plunge our swords into his 
body." (Prescott's Conquest of Mexico, Vol. II, pages 158-162.) 

805. Aztec calendar stone, city of Mexico. 

This great work illustrates not only the advancement of the Aztecs in' 
the art of sculpture, but shov/s their system of calculating the recur- 
rence of their cycles, the solstices, etc. It is claimed by some investiga- 
tors that this stone was a perpetual calendar, but by others that it was 
solely intended to commemorate the feast days and to preserve in the 
memory of man the years of the cycles that had passed at the time the 
stone was engraved. It is recorded that it was hewn from a block of 
basalt in the year 1479, during the reign of Axaycatl. Its face is eleven 
feet eight inches across, and the whole mass is said to weigh twenty-six 
tons. 

806. The Aztec sacrifice. 

From an old painting. 

In ancient Mexico when a brave enemy was taken captive he was 
tied to the center of a large circular stone by one foot, armed wit4i a 
sword of wood, and forced to fight against a number of adversaries 
armed with weapons of obsidian as sharp as steel. If vanquished he was 
dragged to the "Techcatl," or stone of sacrifice, the upper face of which 



174 THE RELICS OF COLUMBUS. 

was convex to such a degree that when the victim lay stretched out upon 
it his chest protruded. When he was secured in place the executioner 
plunged his knife of obsidian into the chest of the victim, and thrusting 
in his hand tore out the heart, which, after holding it up to the sun, he 
threw to the image of the divinity to whom the temple was dedicated, 
while the multitude knelt at the foot of the stone pyramid ready to re- 
ceive the body, which was thrown to them by the priests. This they 
divided among themselves and devoured. 

807. The Aztec idol Teoyaomiqui. 

Original in the National Museum, Mexico. 

The most celebrated of the Aztec antiquities is the war god Huitzili- 
pochtli, sometimes also called Teoyamiqui, or the Goddess of Death. 
At all events rivers of blood have flowed before it and thousands have 
perished in its presence; for according to historians the hearts of 
human victims were kept smoking on its altar night and day. It ^was 
found buried in the great square of the city of Mexico in 1790, and was 
again buried for fear it might tempt the Indians to their ancient wor- 
ship. It was re-exhumed in lb21 and is now iu the National Museum of 
Mexico. 

808. Great idol of the Aztecs. 

The Aztecs worshiped a supreme being whom they called Teotl. 
Tlacatecolotl was the enemy of man; the Aztec Minerva, the most pow- 
erful of their deities to whom they gave external form, was Tezcatlipoca, 
or the shining mirror; Mextli, or Huitzilopoctli, was the Mexican Mars; 
Cihuacohuatl, the woman serpent, was the first woman in the world to 
have children, and she always had twins; Tlaloc, the God of Thunder, 
dwelt in the crater of Popocatapetl, and so on. Besides these great 
deities there were also many minor gods known as the Tepitoton, of 
which the Aztecs kept images in their houses. 

809. Original letter from Hernando Cortez, Conqueror of Mexico, to Charles 

V, Emperor of Spain, concerning affairs in Mexico. 

Loaned by C. F. Gunther, Chicago, 111. 

Cortez, like Ctesar, wrote an account of his own battles, and no sooner 
had the city of Mexico been taken than he retired to the suburb of 
Coyooacan and indited a letter to his sovereign, giving a temperate and 
clear recital of his doings. These "Cartas de Cortez ' are valuable con- 
tributions to the literature of the Conquest, and are five in number. 

810. Autograph of Hernando Cortez, Conqueror of Mexico, written in 1541. 

In Seville, in the great building containing the archives of the Indies, 
are the autographs of nearly all the early vt)yagers and conquistadores, 
including those of Cortez, Pizarro, Magellan, etc., and valuable papers 



THE CONQUEST OF MEXICO AND PERU. 1/5 

pertaining to the Conquest of the New World, that have never been 

exploited. 
Sii, Map of the city of Mexico, sent by Cortez to Charles V. 
812. Chart of the Gulf of Mexico, sent by Cortez to Charles V, in 1520. 



THE CONQUEST OF PERU. 

ki. Portrait of Francisco Pizarro. 

Francisco Pizarro, the subjugator of Peru, was born at Truxlllo in 
Spain about 1471, an illegitimate child. His occupation in early life was 
ihat of a swine-herd; he received no education, and could not read or 
write even in later life. He went to Seville and sailed for America in 
1510, landing at Hispaniola, and thence going with Ojeda toUraba,after- 
wara marcning with Balboa across the Isthmus of Darien, and sharing 
the honor of Demg among the first Europeans to look upon the Pacific. 
In 1515 he went across the isthmus to trade with the Indians, and 
established himself near Panama, and in 1524 sailed southward but was 
compelled to return. He sailed for Spain in 1528 and obtained from King 
Charles V permission to explore, and the title of adelantado and 
captain general of the province of Peru — which he intended to try to 
conquer. He returned to Panama in 1530 and the next year sailed south- 
ward, bent on conquest, with three vessels, twenty-seven horses and one 
hundred and eighty men. Landing on the coast of Peru, Pizarro found 
the kingdom divided and that Atahualpa, one of the brothers to whom 
it had been left by their father, Huayna Capac, had defeated and 
imprisoned his brother and was then encamped at Cajamarca. March- 
ing to meet him, Pizarro was received with friendliness, but he treach- 
erously made Atahualpa prisoner, confining him until he had raised a 
ransom of above $17,000,000, and then put him to death. This was in 
August, 1533, and in November the Spaniards entered the Peruvian 
capital, Cuzco. In 1535 the city of Lima was founded. Constant attacks 
and insurrections of the Indians kept the country in perpetual warfare, 
and in 1538 the Spaniards fought among themselves, Pizarro defeating 
and executing his old comrade, Almargo. In 1540 a royal judge was 
sent out to inquire into Pizarro's conduct, but before he reached Lima 
the conqueror had been assassinated (June 26, 1541) at the instigation of 
a son of Almargo. 
815. Pizarro relating his adventures to Charles V. 

Having heard the stories of the great and rich empire of Peru from the 
Indians of Darien, Pizario returned to Spain in 1528 and had interviews 
with King Charles V, whom he so moved by his tales of adventure and 



176 THE RELICS OF COLUMBUS. 

promises of prospective wealth that the emperor gave orders for an 
expedition to be fitted out, and invested Pizarro with titles fitting to the 
station he might occupy after the conquest was consummated. He was 
inflenced by the gold that Pizarro exhibited, the llamas he had brought 
with him to Spain, and the reported abundance of the precious metals. 
A capitulation was signed in July, 1529, defining the powers and privi- 
leges of Pizarro, and his expedition started in January, 1530, on the voy- 
age that ended in the conquest of Peru. 

816. Atahualpa, the last of the Incas. 

When Pizarro entered Peru he found that the kingdom was divided 
between the princes Atahualpa and Huascar, the latter then a prisoner 
to the former and striving for the power. Atahualpa opeacd negotia- 
tions with Pizarro, and to this end nittrched to meet him with a vast 
army, but was drawn into the city where the Spanish troops were 
quartered, leaving the bulk of his army outside. He was then taken 
prisoner, his attendants being basely massacred. As a ransom the Inca 
offered to fill the room in which he was confined with gold as high as he 
could reach, a line nine feet above the floor, and the space he agreed t& 
fill was twenty-two feet long by seventeen broad, and nine feet high. 
His offer was accepted, and messengers were dispatched all over the 
kingdom to collect the golden treasure. The gold alone is sa'd to have 
amounted to oyer $15,000,000, besides a great amount of silver. Not- 
withstanding, the Inca was condemned to be executed and was garroted 
August 29, 153;i 

817. Early pictures of America from De Bry's Voyages, 1595. First meet- 

ing between Pizarro and Atahualpa. 

"Elevated high above his vassals came the Inca Atahualpa, borne on 
a sedan or open litter, on which was a sort of throne made of massive 
gold of inestimable value. The palanquin was lined with the richly 
colored plumes of tropical birds and studded with shining plates of gold 
and silver. The monarch's attire was very rich; round his neck was 
suspended a collar of emeralds of uncommon size and brilliancy. His 
short hair was decorated with golden ornaments, and the imperial borla 
encircled his temples. The bearing of the Inca was sedate and dignified. 
From his lofty station he looked down on the multitudes below with an 
air of composure, like one accustomed to command." (Prescott.) 

818. The arrest of Atahualpa. 

From an old print. 

As Atahualpa entered the square where the Spaniards were quartered, 
Pizarro's chaplain advanced to nieet him and at once attempted to ex- 
pound to him th^ teii»?t§ vi the Christian faith, ending with a der^i^Lnci 



THE CONQUEST OF MEXICO AND PERU. 1/7 

that the Inca adjure his own gods and embrace the religion of the in- 
vaders. The Inca, of course, understood iittlc of what the priest had 
said, and moreover was indignant that a common mortal should address 
him so familiarly, and spurned both the priest and his doctrine. At this 
the holy man w^ enraged, and gave Pizarro the order to set upon the 
Indians at once, which the soldier did, giving the signal for a horrible 
massacre in which thousands of the Inca's subjects were murdered. 

819. Early pictures of America from De Bry's Voyages, 1595. Indians of 

Peru bring the ransom of Atahualpa. 

From his place of confinement the Inca sent orders to his subjects to 
bring in the accumulated objects in gold and silver in the temples and 
palaces, and for two months or more they were on the road, bringing in 
such vast and beautiful treasures that the greedy Spaniards were 
astonished. There were goblets, salvers, ewers, vases, ornaments for 
the temples, and tiles and plates for the decoration of the public build- 
ings, of great beauty of design and delicacy of workmanship — in all to 
the value of over $15,000,000. 

820. Early pictures of America from De Bry's Voyages, 1595. Murder of 

Atahualpa by strangling. 

Having secured the immense ransom from the subjects of the Inca, 
Pizarro should have released him, but policy dictated that he be either 
killed or kept a prisoner. It was considered too dangerous to set at 
liberty one possessed of such absolute power over his people while the 
Spanish army was so small, and after a council it was decided to dis- 
pose of him by burning. He was, however, garroted instead on the condi- 
tion that he receive baptism, and died thus on the 29th of August, 1533. 

821. Don Juan Marcelo Chiquanthopa, descendant of the Incas of Peru, 

governor of San Geronimo, 1684. 

822. Early pictures of America from De Bry's Voyages, 1595. City of 

Cuzco, Peru, the capital of the Incas. 

Situated in a province of the same name, eleven thousand feet above 

the sea. According to the traditions of the Incas, Cuzco was their most 

ancient capital, and was founded by Manco Capac in the eleventh 

century. Its name signified " Navel of the Earth," thereby meaning 

that it was the center of the world, and it was the holy city of the ancient 

Peruvians, containing a glorious temple of the sun, richly ornamented 

with gold and silver, besides above three hundred smaller temples, and 

it was the mecca of pious pilgrims from all parts of Peru. Pizarro took 

and sacked it, 1533, and little remains to recall the glorious capital of the 

Incas, except fragments of massive walls. 
12 



178 THE RELICS OK COLUMBUS. 

823. Early pictures of America from De Bry's Voyages, 1595. Atahualpa, 

the Inca of Peru, with his army at the gates of Cuzco. 

Atahualpa, wlio ovcrtlirew liis l)r()tlicr and look him {Jiisoncr, took 
j)osscssioii of Cuzco in the year 1582, but did not retain it, as the year 
following it was captured l)y Pizarro. Its popukitjon at that time was 
said to be above two liundrcd thousand. 

824. Early pictures of America from De Bry's Voyages, 1595. Conference 

between Pizarro and his comrades. 

825. Indians bringing presents to Pizarro. From De Bry's Voyages, 1595. 

826. Early pictures of America from De Bry. Scene of Pizarro' s assassina- 

tion, Lima, Peru. 

It was on the 26th of June, 1541, that tlie end came to the conquercr of 
Peru, at the instigation of the son of Almargo, liis old companiou-at- 
arins, whom he had executed in '88. The friends of the Almargo family 
formed themselves into a band for vengeance and rushed to the gov- 
ernor's palace with the cry "Long live the King; death to the tyrant!" 
Pizarro was at dinner with a few friends, and wholly unprepared for 
attack, l)ut he hastily attcm[)ted to liuckle on his armor, while two or 
three devoted adherents tried to hold the assassins at bay, and then 
defended himself with all his old-time courage and skill, killing several 
of them before he finally fell, pierced with sword wounds and bathed in 
his own blood. The mangled corpses of Pizarro and his slain com- 
j-.anions were left where they had fallen, while the conspirators returned 
to the streets and jiroclaimed the son of Almargo successor to the gov- 
ernor. The remains were secretly buried by some of his menials, but a 
few years later, when tnin(}uility was restored to the country, they were 
placed in a sumptuous coffm and deposited in a conspicuous part of the 
Cathedral. In 1007, when time had thrown its friendly mantle over 
the past and the memory of his errors and his crimes was merged in the 
consideration of the great services he had rendered to the Crown by the 
extension of its colonial empire, his bones were removed to the new 
Cathedral ^md allowed tt) rei)ose by the side of tlmse of Mendoza, the 
wise and good viceroy. 

827. Fac-simile of the signature of Pizarro. 

Pizarro could neither read nor write. This is a well attested fact. It 
is said that he tried to learn to read on his first voyage, but his impatient 
temper prevented. He- learned to sign his name, and this was all. 
Some of his contemporaries deny that he could even do that, and assert 
that his secretary wrote his signature and Pizarro painfully inscribed the 
rubrica or ornamental llourish, customary for all cavaliers to make in 
those days. In the Lonja, or building containing papers pertaining tg 



THE CONQUEST OF MEXICO AND PERU. 1 79 

the Indies, in Seville, is a "signature" of Pizarro— merely a cross with 
accompanying rubric. 
829, Fac-simile of the standard of Pizarro. 

After the execution of dtahualpa, the last of the Incas, at Caxamarca, 
Peru, Pizarro marched to Cuzco and made his triumphal entry into the 
capital of the empire, November 13, 1533. The standard carried on this 
occasion was in the form of a gonfalon. On one of its sides, of red 
damask, was worked the arms of Charles V, and on the other, which 
was of yellow damask, was painted the Apostle James in an attitude 
of combat upon a white horse, with shield, curass and helmet with 
plumes. A red cross glittered on his breast, and a sword in his right 
hand. The banner was deposited in the Temple of the Sun, which 
was converted into a Christian cathedral. There it was found by Gen- 
eral Sucre, the leader of the revolution in 1824, who, in a letter dated 
at Cuzco, December 30th, of that year, sent it to General Simon Bolivar at 
Bogota, as a trophy, saying: " I have the honor of jiresenting' to Your 
Excellency the royal standard of Castile, witli which the Spaniards 
entered this rich country three himdred years ago." General Bolivar 
presented this relic to the municipality of Caracas, Venezuela, his native 
place, and the original still remains in the council chamber of that city. 
t)ne of the corners, however, was cut off and presented to Lord Canning, 
under whose ministry in 1822 Great Britain recognized the South Ameri- 
can republics. 
830. The Indians of Peru, tortured by the Spaniards to obtain the secret of 
the buried gold. From De Bry's Voyages. 



CONQUEST AND SETTLEMENT OF OTHER PORTIONS OF 

AMERICA. 

840. Vasco Nunez Balboa. 

\'asco Nunez de Ikilboa was born at Xeres, Spain, 1475, went to the 
New World in ir.Ol and settled in Mispaniola, and later to Darien. 
Hearnig that he had been condemned ])y the King and ordered to return 
to Spain, he resolved upon some great enterprise that would conciliate 
his sovereign, and sailed with one hundred and ninety men, landing at 
Coyba, whence he attempted to traverse the Isthmus of Darien. On 
September 26th, he reached the summit of a mountain range, and before 
Inm lay the glorious expanse of the Pacific^the great southern sea. 
Balboa was the first to look upon it, and the date of this achievement 
was September 26, 1513. He reaped the usual reward of the brave 
explorers of those days, and was beheaded in 1517. 

841. Discovery of the Pacific ocean by Vasco Nunez de Balboa. 

One of the most romantic of the events of the years of discovery was 



iSO THE RELICS OF COLUMBUS. 

the discovery of the Pacific by Vasco Nunez de lialboa in the year 1513. 
It has been celebrated in song and story, antl every one is famihar with 
that k)ne figure for the first time gazing upon the great southern sea^ 
" Silent; upon a peak of Darien." 
After his first glimpse of the Pacific, Balboa descended the western 
side of the mountain with infinite t lil and took possession of the sea in 
tlie name of the King of Spain. He afterward undertook the explor- 
ation of the sea, building boats for that purpose, and would have 
probably anticipated the conquest of Peru by Pizarro had not jealousy 
prevented. His superior, Petlrarias, recalled him and had him beheaded 
in the public square of Ada in the year 1517. 

842. Fernando Magellan, the first mariner to sail around the world, and the 

discoverer of the straits that bear his name. 

P'ernando Magellan was born about 1470, at or near Villa de Sabroza 
in Portugal. He made several trips to the East Indies, and later was 
sent to Morocco, where he was woimded. Being refused an increase of 
pay, to which he considered himself entitled, he renounced his nationality 
and offered his services to the King of Spain. On August 10, 1519, he 
sailed in command of an expedition in search of a western route to the 
Spice Islands. He passed through the straits that now bear his name, 
November, 1520, but did not live to return to Spain, being killed in 
April, 15'21, in a fight with the natives of Zeba, in the Philippine Islands. 

843. Vision of Magellan. Early pictures of America from De Bry's Voyages, 

1595- 

844. The fleet of Magellan. 

The fleet of Magellan consisted of five vessels of from sixty to one 
hundred and thirty tons, manned by two hundred and thirty-six sailors, 
and sailed from San Lucar, Spain, September 20, 1519. He made Hie 
coast of Brazil, January, 1520, and the straits that bear his name as dis- 
coverer in November, thence sailing into the Pacific, and finally meeting 
his death at an island of the Philippines, April 27, 1521. The only 
remnant remaining of the exiiediliou, a single ship and eighteen men, 
reached Spain again September 6, 1522, and this ship, the-" Vitorio," 
was the first to make the circuit of the globe. 

845. Portrait of John Cabot. 

John Cabot was a Cknioese by birth, but a naturalized citizen of the 
republic of \'enice. He removed to England, entered the service of 
the government, and wMth his three sons, Luis, Sebastian and Santo, dis- 
covered Newfoundland in 1494. He sailetl three hundred leagues along 
the coast southward and planted the standard of his king in New Eng- 
land. 



THE CONQUEST OF MEXICO AND PERU. igl 

846. Sebastian Cabot, the discoverer of North America. 

Sebastian Cabot, the renowned navigator and contemporary of Colum- 
bus, was the son of John Cabot, a Venetian merchant, and was born at 
Bristol, England, about 1476. Henry VII granted the first patent to 
"John Gabote, citizen of Vemce; to Lewis, Sebastian, Santus, sonnes of 
said John;" and in the year 1497. John Cabot and his son, Sebastkin dis- 
covered that country which no one before his time had ventured to ap- 
proach, on the 24th of June. He called the land Terra Primum Visa, 
supposed to have been the coast of Nova Scotia or Cape Breton Island! 
Supposed to have died in London in ir)57. 
847. Sebastian Cabot on the deck of his ship. 

From an old print. 
849. Sir Walter Raleigh. 

Born in the year 1552, at the middle of that ccnturv so renowned for 
Its maritime discoveries. Raleigh early imbibed the love f(M- adventure 
so prevalent, and turned his attention from the petty offices with which 
Elizabeth had rewarded his services to greater fields abroad. In 1583 
he invested two thousand pounds in the ill-fated expedition of Sir Humph- 
rey Gilbert, the next year obtaining a charter for colonization, sending 
Amadas and Barlow to explore the new country which he named Vir- 
ginia. In 1585 he sent thither a fleet full of colonists, and another in 
1587; but the first ones were brought home by Drake in 1586, and the 
second perished. It was in 1584 that he commenced the cultivation of 
the potato on a large scale on his estate in Munster, and in 1588 he took 
an active part in the operations against the Armada, and commenced 
that career against the fleets and colonies of Spain that distinguished his 
greater plans in later life. About 1592 he was imprisoned by Queen 
Elizabeth, but regained his liberty and sent out a mariner to learn the 
way to Eldorado, a fabled country of gold in South America. The next 
year, 1595, he himself took command of an expedition in search of El- 
dorado, and arrived with five ships at the Island of Trinidad, whence he 
ascended the Orinoco in small boats, and found some gold, though he 
did not discover the mythical country. He published an account'of his 
voyage and discoveries, but the troubles and honors awaiting him at 
home prevented what he so much desired— a thorough exploration of 
the country and an expedition against the possessions of Spain in the 
West Indies. He was tried for treason and condemned to the tower in 
1603, and during his long imprisonment wrote his unfinished "History of 
the World." Released on the condition that he discover the gold mines 
of Guiana, though his life was still to be at the king's mercy if he tres- 
passed upon the possessions of Spain, he sailed on that forlorn hope, fi- 
nally returning without the expected gold, and having incurred the hostil- 



1^2 THE RELICS OF COLUMBUS. 

ity of the king by taking and burning a Spanish settlement on the Orinoco. 
Tried on the counts of piracy for having broken his promise and shed 
Spanish blood, he was sentenced to death and executed on the 29th of 
October, 1618. 

851. Portrait of Martin Frobisher. 

Martin Frobisher was born about 1535 in Yorkshire, England, and a^ 
early as 1560 he was meditating the discovery of a northwest passage to 
Cathay. In 1576, with two small barks and a pinnace, he sailed to the 
coast of Labrador, a'eturning the same year. The next year he com- 
manded an expedition to Greenland, and was personally thanked by the 
queen (Elizabeth), who encouraged him to take a third expedition the next 
year again to Greenland, when he entered Hudson's Bay. In 1588 he was 
knighted for his jiart in destroying the Spanish Armada, and in 1594 he 
received a wound from which he died. 

852. Portrait of John Ha-wkins. 

Born at Plymouth, England, in 1532, and bred a sailor. He made three 
voyages to Guinea, the first in 1562, second in 1564, and the third in com- 
pany with young Drake in 1567. In the expedition against the Armada 
he was appointed vice-admiral, hoisting his flag on board the "Victory," 
and for his services on that occasion he was knighted. He was the first 
to use chain pumps and fighting nettings for ships. His last expedition 
was in 1595, in company with Drake, and he died the r2th of Novem- 
ber of that year off Puerto Rico. 

853. Sir Francis Drake, British mariner, identified with the early history 

.of America. 

Born about 1545, made a voyage to Guinea with Hawkins at the age of 
twenty; in 1570 obtained a regular privateering commission from Queen 
Elizabeth, and in 1572 sailed for the Spanish Main and Panama, where 
he made great havoc among the shipping and took and plundered cities. 
From the top of a tree on the isthmus he first-saw the Pacific. Return- 
ing to England in August, 1573, he was presented at court, and in De- 
cember, 1577, sailed on his famous voyage around the world through the 
Straits of Magellan, ravaging the coasts of Chile and Peru, and finally 
reaching England in November, 1580. In 1585 he took several cities on 
the Spanish Main and in the West Indies, l)ecoming a scourge to the 
Spaniards, and in 1587 he destroyed above ten thousand tons of shipping 
in the harbor of Cadiz — ships intended for the Spanish Armada. He 
died and was buried at sea January, 1595, off Porto Bello. 

854. Capture of Santo Domingo by Sir Francis Drake. 

Early pictures of America from De Bry's Voyages, 1595. 
Sir Francis Drake, the terror of the Spanish settlements along the 
Spanish Main and in the West Indies, sacked the city of Santo Domingo 



THE CONQUEST OF MEXICO AND PERU. 1B3 

SO thoroughly about the year 1585 that even the archives of the cathe- 
dral were destroyed, and no paper of more ancient date than 1580 can 
be found there. Embedded in the roof of the cathedral is a cannon 
ball thrown from one of his vessels at this time. 

855. Capture of Carthagena by Sir Francis Drake. 

856. Reception of Sir Francis Drake. 

Early pictures of America from Do Bry's Voyages, 1595. 

857. Buccaneer cannons from Tortola, West Indies. 

Tortola, in the virgin group of the West Indies, is nearly deserted of 
its white inhabitants and has no commerce, but at one time it was a 
flourishing island with fine plantations. The virgins were the haunts at 
one period of the pirates and the buccaneers, who infested these seas, 
and one of the channels between the isles bears the name of Sir Francis 
Drake. These cannons are believed to have come from one of the pirate 
ships landed here in the seventeenth century. 

858. Ponce de Leon landing in Florida. 

In his search for the fountain of perpetual youth, in 1512, Ponce de 
Leon cruised the Bahamas and unwittingly discovered the coast of 
Plorida, finding there Indians more warlike than the natives of Santo 
Domingo and Puerto Rico, where he had been living for some years, 
and who, on his return to Florida, afterward gave him battle and in- 
flicted wounds that caused his death. 

859. Indians of Florida presenting fruit to Ponce de Leon. 

860. Queen of Florida. From De Bry's Voyages, 1595. 

861. The King of Florida. 

Early pictures of America from De Bry's Voyages, 1595. 

862. People of Florida sacrificing their first-born to the sun. From an old 

print. 

863. Old pistols from Puerto Rico. 

Two old pistols from tlie island of Puerto Rico left t:;; re by the Eng- 
lish after their invasion in the last century. Loaned by F. A. Ober. 

864. Arquebuse and ancient swords from Puerto Rico. 

The arquebuse was left in the island of Puerto Rico when the English 
retreated after their invasion about one hundred and fifty years ago. It 
is a Tower-of-London piece, and one of the best produced at that time. 
The swords are of Spanish make, and were brought to Puerto Rico by 
the early settlers, being of the first part of the eighteenth century. Pre- 
sented to F. A. Ober, who loans them to the Exposition. 
S65. Group of old engravings representing scenes in the early history of 

America. 



184 THE RELICS OF COLUMBUS. 

SPANISH REMAINS IN NORTH AMERICA. 



866. Sir Francis Drake capturing St. Augustine, Florida. 

In the year 1586 Sir Francis Drake, being then on a piratical expedi- 
tion against the Spanish settlements, saw signs of a settlement at St. 
Augustine -hitherto unsuspected by the English — and attacked and 
plundered the town. During the seventeenth century the isolated settle- 
ment was exposed to the attacks of Indians, pirates and the English set- 
tlers of the adjacent Carolinas. 

867. St. Augustine, Florida, in 1565. 

868. St. Augustine in 1565. From an old print. 

869. Ponce de Leon landing in Florida. From De Bry's Voyages, 1595. 

Ponce de Leon, one of the conquistadores, first settled in Santo Domingo, 
thence he invaded Puerto Rico, and from Puerto Rico sailed on his famous 
quest for the Fountain of Youth, threading the chain of the Bahama 
Islands and discovering the coast of Florida, 1512. He .did not make any 
extended exploration of the peninsula, but he returned some years later, 
having been appointed adelantado of the Bahamas and Florida, and 
was wounded in a skirmish with the Indians, and retreating to Havana he 
died there in 1521. His body was taken to Puerto Rico, and the remains 
now repose in the Dominican church of San Juan de Puerto Rico. 

870. St. Augustine, Florida, in 1633. From Ogilby's History of America. 

871. Relics of Spanish occupation in North America. Views of St. Augus- 

tine, Florida. 

St. Augustine was settled — or at least a fort was commenced there — in 
1565, and so has the distinction of being the oldest city of European foun- 
dation in the United States. The city was captured by Sir Francis Drake 
in 1596, and the fort taken by the settlers of Carolina in 1704, but the prov- 
ince remained in the hands of the Spaniards until 1763, when it was ceded 
to Great Britain in exchange for Cuba. It was retroceded to Spain by 
treaty of 1783, and in 1819 was ceded to the United States, possession 
being given in 1821. 

872. Ponce de Leon Hotel, St. Augustine, Florida, 1892. 

From its numerous attractions of climate, scenery and antiquity, St- 
Augustine has long been a favorite resort with those seeking Florida for 
a change of scene and climate during the winter months. Although pos- 
sessed of a quaint architecture of its own, and being more Spanish than 
any town on the Atlantic coast of the LTnited States, yet nearly all the 
great structures of modern times, as the hotels, have been built by 
northern capital, and the place mainly supported by the influx of 
northern visitors. The great hotels of recent erection, like the Ponce de 



THE CONQUEST OF MEXICO AND PERU. I85 

Leon and Alcazar, have neen Moorish and oriental in their architecture, 
entirely in accord with the history and traditions of the old city. 

873. Relics of Spanish occupation of North America. Views of Fort Marion, 

St. Augustine, Florida. 

The Spaniards established a fort at St. Augustine in 1565, but Fort 
Marion was not hnishcd until 1756. It is a fine specimen of the old Span- 
ish military architecture, with moat and outworks, with walls twenty feet 
high, bastioned and casemated. It is built in the form of a trapezium, 
covers four acres, and is made of the coquina rock so plentiful on Anas- 
tasia island across the bay. 

874. Mission of Santa Barbara, California. 

875. Ruins of the Mission of San Luis Rey, California. 

876. San Gabriel Mission, California. 

Lower California was occupied by Jesuit missionaries as early as 1697, 
where they continued till 17G7, when they were expelled by the king of 
Spain and their possessions given to the Franciscans, who were replaced 
by the Dominicans, and the Franciscans withdrew to upper California 
and there established those famous missions, the ruins of which we find 
there to-day. Selecting the finest spots and bringing under subjection 
the native Indians, who virtually became their slaves, the fathers made 
the country blossom with gardens and accumulated great wealth. The 
missions were twenty-two in number, and flourished until the separation 
of Mexico from Spain, in 1822, when they fell into decline and were 
finally given up altogether, about 1840. 

877. Mission of Santa Ynez, California. 

878. Mission of San Carlos, near Monterey. 

879. Mission of San Miguel, California. 

880. Church of San Miguel, Santa Fe, New Mexico. 

881. Mission of San Juan Bautista, California. 

882. Mission of San Antonio de Padua, California. 

883. Mission of San Juan Capestrano, California. 

884. First pictures of New York. Published in 1595. 

885. The natives of California. From an old print. 

886. First map of the city of Santo Domingo. 

887. First map of the island of Santo Domingo. 

888. The city of Truxillo, Honduras, in 1565. 

889. City of Havana in 1565. 
Sgo. Discovery of Venezuela. 



l86 THE RELICS OF COLUMBUS, 



SECTION O. ORIGINAL PAPERS PERTAINING TO COLUMBUS. 
LOANED BY THE DUKE OF VERAGUA.* 



900. Letters from the King of Portugal to Christopher Columbus. 

Dated Avis, May 29, 1488. 

901. The original commission given to Columbus by Ferdinand and Isabella 

upon his departure for the first voyage. 

Dated Granada, April 30, 1492, appointing him Grand Admiral of the 
Ocean Seas, Vice-King and Governor-General of all the lands that he 
should discover. 

(Translation of the contract between Columbus and the Sovereigns.) 

In the name of the Holy Trinity and Eternal Unity, Father, Son and Holy Ghost, 
three persons really distinct and one divine essence, who lives and reigns forever with- 
out end; and of the most Blessed Virgin, glorious Holy Mary, our Lady, His Mother, 
whom we hold as Lady and iVdvocate in all our undertakings; and to the honor and 
reverence of her, and of the most bl3ssed Apostle St. James, light and mirror of the 
Spains, patron and glide ot the Kings of Castile and of Leon; and likewise to the honor 
and reverence of all the other Saints of the Celestial Court; as man, by whatever knowl- 
edge he may liave of the world, can not, according to nature, completely know what 
God is, but may know Him by seeing and contemplating His wonders and the works 
and deeds which He performed and performs every day, because all the works are the 
effect of His power and are governed by His wisdom and maintained by His goodness; 
and so, man may understand that God is the beginning, the middle and end of all 
things; and that they are included in Him and He maintains each one in that state in 
which He placed it in the order (of the world), and all stand in need of Him and He of 
none, and He can change them whenever it may be agreeable to His will; and He can not 
be subjected to change, nor be changed in anything; and He is called the King of Kings, 
because from Him they derive their name and reign through Him, and He governs and 
preserves them, who are Vicars (each one in His own kingdom) placed by Him over the 
people to maintain them temporarily in justice and in truth, which is fully demon- 
strated in two ways— the one spiritual, according as the prophets and saints demon- 
strated, upon whom our Lord conferred the grace of understanding those things cer- 
tainly and make them be understood by others; the other natural, as the philosophers 
demonstrated, who understood those things naturally, for the saints declared that the 
King is established upon earth in the place of God to render justice and give to every one 
his right, and on this account they called him the heart and soul of the people; and as 
the soul resides in the heart of man and the body lives and is preserved by it, so justice 
is established in the King, which is the life and preservation of the people of his do- 
minions. And as the heart is one, and through it all the other members receive unity 

*These documents, the most precious historical papers in existence, were loaned by 
the Duke of Veragua at tlie request of the President of the United States, made by the 
authority of Congress, 



ORIGINAL PAPERS PERTAINING TO COLUMBUS. 187 

so as to form one body, in like manner all the inhabitants of the kingdom , although 
many, are one, because the King must be and is one, and through Mm all have to be one 
■with him to follow and assist him in the things he has to perform. Then philosophers 
naturally declared that Kings are the head of tlie kingdom, for in the same manner as 
sentiment springs from the head, which command all the other members of the body 
in like manner by the command which emanates from the King, lord and head of all, 
the inhabitants of tlie kingdom must be directed and governed, and they have to obey 
him; and so great is the right of kingly power that all the laws and rights are in the 
power of Kings, who acknowledge it not from men, but from God, whose place they 
hold in temporal affairs. Among other things it especially behooves the King to love, 
honor and preserve his people, and among these he must particularly distinguish and 
honor persons meritorious, either by services rendered to him or on account of their be- 
ing endowed with goodness. And as, according to the sayings of the wise, justice is 
one of the virtues peculiar to Kin^s, which is the support and truth of things, by which 
the world is better and more justly preserved, being likewise a fountain from which 
every right is derived and remains always alive in the minds of just men and never fails 
giving and distributing to each one equally his right, and embracing in itself all the 
principal virtues, and very great utility arises from it, because it engages every person 
to live with prudence and in peace according to his state without fault and without 
error, the good becoming through it better by receiving a reward fortheir deeds rightly 
performed, and the others correcting themselves and entering through it into the right 
road. Of which justice there are two principal parts— the one is communicative 
between man and man, the other is distributive, which carries with it the rewards and 
recompenses of the good and virtuous labors and services which individuals render to 
Kings and Princes and to the commonweal of their kingdoms; and as the conferring a 
reward upon those who serve well and faithfully is an attribute, r.s the law says, very 
becoming to all mankind, and more especially to Kings, Princes and great Lords, who 
have the power of doing it, and whose proper office it is to honor and elevate those who 
servo them well and faithfully and who are worthy of it on account of their virtues and 
services; and Kings in conferring rewards upon worthy actions show by that their ac- 
knowledgment of virtue and love of justice, for justice consists not only in giving an 
example of punishment as a terror to the wicked, but likewise in recompensing the 
good, and besides this a signal advantage arises from it, because it excites the good to 
become better and the wicked to correct themselves, and by not acting thus the contrary 
might take place; and since among other rewards and remunerations which Kings have 
it in their power to bestow upon them truly and faithfully, there is that of honoring and 
elevating them above all the others of their race and ennobling, decorating and honor- 
ing them and conferring many other kindnesses, favors and graces upon them. 

We, considering and reflecting upon the abovesaid things, will, that, by this our 
patent of privilege, and by a copy of it signed by a public scrivener, present and future 
generations may know, that {We, Don Ferdinand and Dona Isabella, by the grace of 
God, King and Queen of Castile, ', Leon, Aragon, Sicily, Granada, Toledo, Valencia, 
Galicia, Majorca, Seville, Sardinia, Corsica, Murcia, Jahen, Algarve, Algesira, Gibral- 
tar, and the Canary Islands, Count and Countess of Barcelona, Lords of Biscay and 
Molina, Dukes of Athens and Neopatria, Counts of Roussillon and Cerdan, Marquises 
of Orestan and Goziano, have seen a patent of grace signed with our names, and sealed 
with our seal, drawn up as follows : 

Don Ferdinand and Dona Isabella, by the grace of God, King and Qneen of Castile, 
Leon, Aragon, Sicily, Granada, Toledo, Valencia, Galicia, Majorca, Seville, Sardinia, 
Cordova, Corsica, Murcia, Jahen, Algarve, Algesita, Gibraltar, and the C'anary Islands, 
Count and Countess of Barcelona, Lords of Biscay and Molina, Dukes of Athens and 
Neopatria, Counts of Roussillon and Cerdan, Marquises of Orestan and Goziano : In- 



l88 THE RELICS OF COLUMBUS, 

asmuch as you, Christopher Columbus, are going by our command to discover and 
conquer, with some of our vessels and our subjects, certain islands and mainland in 
the ocean, and as it is hoped, with the assistance of God, that some of the aforesaid 
islands and mainland in the said ocean will be discovered and conquered through your 
labor and industry; and it being just and reasonable that for exposing yourself to such 
danger for our service, you sliould be rewarded; We, desiring on that account to do you 
honor and favor, declare it to be our will and pleasure, that you, the abovesaid Chris- 
topher Columbus, when you shall have discovered and conquered the said island and 
mainland in the said ocean, or any one whatsoever of them, be our Admiral of the said 
islands and mainland, wliich you shall thus discover and conquer, and be our Admiral, 
Viceroy and Governor of them; and that you may from this time forward, style and 
entitle yourself Don Christopher Columbus; andlikewise your children and successors 
in the said ofKce and charge, may entitle and call themselves, Don, Admiral, Viceroy, 
and Governor of thorn; and that you may use and exercise the said ofKce of Admiral, 
with the aforesaid office of Viceroy and Governor of the abovesaid islands and main- 
land, which you discover and conquer, as well by yourself, and by means of your lieu- 
tenants, and hear and determine all suits, and civil and criminal causes respecting the 
said office of Admiral, and of Viceroy and Governor, according as you will find by 
riglit, and in tlie manner in which the Admirals of our kingdoms were accustomed to 
use and exercise it; and that you may punish and chastise delinquents; and use the said 
office of Admiral, Viceroy and Governor, you and your abovesaid lieutenants, in all that 
concerns and is annexed to the said offices, and to each one of them; and that you may 
have and receive the rights and fees belonging and annexed to the said offices, 
and to each of them; according as our high admiral in the admiralty of our king- 
doms receives, and is accustomed to receive them. And by this our patent, or by 
a copy of it, signed by a public scrivener, we command the Prince Don John, 
our most dearly beloved son, the Infantes, dukes, prelates, marquises, counts, 
masters of orders, priors, companions, and those of our council; and the auditors 
of our chamber, alcaldes, and other officers of justice, whoever they may be, of our 
household, court and chancery, and the governors of castles and strong and open places; 
and all counselors, assistants, corregidors, alcaldes, bailiffs and sherifTs, and the 
twenty-four sworn chancellors, esquires, officers, and good men of all the ciiies, towns 
and places of our kingdoms and dominions, and of those which you shall conquer and 
acquire, and the captains, masters, mates and officers, mariners and seamen, our sub- 
jects and natives, who now are and shall be hereafter, and every one, and whomsoever 
of them, that the said islands and mainland in the ocean, being discovered and acquired 
by you, and they being taken, and the solemnities that are required on such occasions 
having been observed by you. Or by the person who shall receive the power for you, to 
have and to hold to you hereafter, during all your life, and after you, your son and suc- 
cessor, and from successor to successor forever, as our admiral of the said ocean, and 
as viceroy and governor of the aforesaid islands and mainland, wliich you, the abovesaid 
Don Christopher Columbus, shall discover and acquire; and to treat of whatever regards 
such things with you, and with your abovesaid lieutenants, whom you shall place in the 
said offices of admiral, viceroy and governor, and to exact and cause to be exacted for 
you, with quittance, the fees and other things annexed and belonging to the said offices; 
and to observe, and cause to be observed toward you, all the honors, graces, favors, 
liberties, ijre-eminences, prerogatives, exemptions and immunities, and all and every 
other thing, which by right of the said offices of admirnl, viceroy and governor you are 
to have and enjoy, and which are to be maintained to you in all, well and completely, in 
such manner as not to be diminished in anything, and not place, nor permit to be 
placed, any 6eqnestration upon, nor offer any opposition to them; because We, with 
this our patent, now and forever, make a grant to you of the said offices of admiral 



ORIGINAL PAPERS PERTAINING TO COLUMBUS. 189 

viceroy and governor, by right of inheritance forever; and we give yon posbession of 
them, and of every one of them, and the power and authority to use and exercise them, 
and to take the fees and salaries annexed and belonging to tliem, and every one of them 
according as has been said. And for as much as has been said, if it were necessary, and 
if you should demand it, we order our chancellor, notaries, and other officers, who are 
employed in tlie office of our seals, to give, expedite and seal for you, our patent to 
privilege, folded up in the form of a roll; in the strongest, most firm, and fit manner, 
and that you may demand of them, and he necessary for you; and none of you r.ct, nor 
let act otherwise in any manner, under the penalty of our displeasure, and of ten 
thousand maravedis for our chamber, upon any pretense whatsoever. And moreover, 
we enjoin the individual, who presents to you this our patent, to cite you to appear 
before our presence in our courts, wherever we may be, within the fifteen next follow- 
ing days from the day of the citation, under the aforesaid penalty; under which we com- 
mand every public scrivener whatsoever, who for this purpose shall bo called upon, to 
give to him who shall have presented this paper a certificate signed with liis signet, in 
order that we may know how our command is executed. 

Given in our city of Granada, on the thirtieth day of the month of April, in the year 
of the nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ, one thousand four hundred and ninety-two. 

L THE KING. 

I, THE QUEEN. 

902. Royal letters patent from the sovereigns of Spain, exempting from 

taxes supplies needed for the fleet of Columbus on his first voyage. 
Dated April 30, 1492. 

903. Royal letters patent from the sovereigns of Spain, commanding the 

inhabitants of Palos to furnish Christopher Columbus everything 

necessary to equip the caravels for his first voyage. 

Dated Granada, April 80, 1492. 

Don Ferdinand and Dona Isabella, by the grace of God, King and Queen of Castile, 
Leon, Aragon, etc., etc., to you Diego Rodrigues Prieto, and to all other persons inhab- 
itants of the town of Palos, Greeting: You are well aware that in consequence of some 
offense which we received at your liands, you were condemned by our council to render 
us the service of two caravels armed at your own expense for the siwce of twelve 
months whenever and wherever it should be our pleasure to demand the same, this serv- 
ice to be rendered under certain penalties as stated more at large in the sentence given 
against you. 

And, inasmuch as we have ordered Christopher Columbus to proceed with a fleet of 
three caravels, as our captain, to certain parts of the ocean, upon a matter connected 
v/ith our service, and we desire that the two caravels, the service of which you owe us 
as abovesaid, shoukl be placed at his disposal — we hereby order that within ten days 
from the siglit of this letter, without delay or waiting for any further directions, you 
have in complete readiness the said two armed caravels for the service of the nbcvc- 
mentioned diristopher Columbus in the enterprise upon which we have dispatch;. d 
him, and that they be ijlaced at his command from that time forth ; and for the crews of 
the said two caravels we order him to pay you forthwith four months' wages at the same 
rate with which the crew of the other caravel [is paid, being the common allowance for 
ships of war. 

The vessels thus placed under his direction shall follow the route ordered by him on 
our part, and obey him in all other orders, provided that neither you nor the said 
Christopher Columbus, nor any other person belonging to the said caravels, shall pro- 
ceed to the mine, nor to the countries in that neigliborliood occupied by the King of 



igO THE RELICS OF COLUMBUS. 

Portugal, our brother, as it is our desire to adhere to the agreement existing between 
us and the said King of Portugal upon that head. 

And having received a certificate from the said captain that he has received the said 
two caravels from you, and is satisfied with the same, we shall consider you as having 
discharged the obligation imposed upon you by our council as abovesaid, and we hereby 
declare you thenceforth free from the same; but in the event of the non-fulfillment of 
or procrastination of the above order, we shall forthwith command the execution of the 
penalties contained in the aforesaid sentence, ui^on each one of you and your goods. 

The above requisition is to be complied with throughout, under pain of onr displeas- 
ure and a penalty of ten thousand maravedis for the non-performance of any part 
thereof, to which end we hereby order under the said penalty, whatever public notary 
may be called upon for that purpose, to f urnisli you with the proper signed attestations, 
that we may be assured of the fulfillment of our orders. 

Given in the city of Granada, on I, THE KING. 

thirtieth day of Aijril, in 
the year of our Lord Jesus Christ, 
one thousand four hundred and 

ninety-two. I, THE QUEEN. 

JUAN DE GOLOMA, 

Secretary of the King and 
Queen, etc., etc. 
Done in due form, 

RODERICUS, Doctor. 
Registered, 

SEBASTIAN DE OLANO, 
FRANCISCO DE MADRID, 

Chancellor. 

904. Royal letters patent from the sovereigns of Spain commanding the 

inhabitants of Palos to furnish Christopher Columbus with two cara- 
vels for his first voyage. 
Dated Granada, April 30, 1492. 

905. Royal letters patent from the sovereigns of Spain granting license to 

the persons accompanying Columbus on his first voyage. 

Dated Granada, April 30, 1492. 

Don Ferdinand and Dona Isabella, by the grace of God, King and Queen of Castile, 
Leon, Aragon, etc., etc. To the Members of our Council. Oidors of our Court of Audi- 
ence, Corregidores, Asistentes, Alcaldes, AL'uaeils, Merinos, and all other magistrates 
whatsoever of all the cities, towns and villages of our kingdoms and dominions, to 
every one who shall see this writing or a copy ot the same attested by a public notary, 
Greeting: 

Be it known to you that wo have ordered Christopher Columbus to proceed to sea for 
the accomplishment of certain business for our service, and as we are informed by him 
tlidt in order to man tlie fleet which he is to command for the execution of this purpose, 
it is nrcessary to grant security to the persons composing the crew of the same, who 
would be otherwise unwilling to embark, and being requested by liim to give the nec- 
essary orders for this measure, we have determined to grant what is demanded by him 
relating to this matter. 

We therefore grant a security to eacli and every person belonging to the crews of the 
fleet of the said Christopher Columbus, in the voyage by sea which he is to undertake 



ORIGINAL PAPERS PERTAINING TO COLUMBUS. IQI 

by our command, exempting them from all hindrance or inconvenience either in their 
persons or goods; and we declare them privileged from arrest or detention on account 
of any offense or crime which may have been committed by them up to tlie date of this 
instrument, and during the time they may be upon the voyage, and for two months 
after they return to their homes. 

And we hereby command you, all and each one, in your several districts and juris- 
dictions, that you abstain from trying any criminal cause touching the person of the 
crews under the command of the said Christopher Columbus, during tlie time pbove 
specified, it being our will and pleasure that every matter of this sort remain suspended. 
This order is to be complied with as you value our favor, and under a penalty of ten 
thousand maravedis for any infringement of the same. 

And we hereby furthermore command every public notary who shall be applied to 
for any purpose connected with the above-mentioned mandate, that ho furnish all the 
proper signed attestations which are necessary in the case, in order that we may be 
assured of the due performance of our orders. 

Given in our city of Granada, on I, THE KING. 

the thirtieth day of April, in 

the year of our Saviour Jesus 

Christ, one thousand four liun- 

dred and ninety-two. I, THE QUEEN. 

JUAN DE COLOMA, Secretary. 
Executed in due form, 

RODERICUS, Doctor. 
FRANCISCO DE MADRID, 

Chancellor. 

906. Royal letters patent from the sovereigns of Spain ordering that Chris- 

topher Columbus may take without charge anything needed for his 
first voyage. 
Dated May 15, 1492. 

907. Royal letters patent from the sovereigns of Spain granting power to 

Christopher Columbus to seal and deliver stores of provisions in their 

names. 

Dated May 15, 1492. 

908. Royal letters patent from the sovereigns of Spain authorizing three 

hundred persons to be taken by Columbus on his second voyage. 
Dated Burgos, April '£], 1493. 

909. Bull of Pope Alexander granting to the sovereigns of Spain all lands 

discovered by Christopher Columbus. 
Dated at Rome, May 4, 1493. 

910. Royal letters patent from the sovereigns of Spain ordering that Chris- 

topher Columbus may be allowed to pass freely through ports, cities 

towns and villages. 

Dated Barcelona, May 20, 1493. 

911. Royal letters patent from the sovereigns of Spain directing Columbus 

to prepare a fleet for his second voyage. 
Dated May 23, 1493, 



192 THE RELICS OF COLUMBUS. 

912. Royal letters patent from the sovereigns of Spain ordering captains and 

masters of vessels to recognize Admiral Christopher Columbus as 
Captain-General, and to obey him in every particular. 
Dated at Barcelona, May 28, 1493. 

913. Royal letters patent from the sovereigns of Spain authorizing Christo- 

pher Columbus to appoint three persons for the offices of government 
in the lands he should discover. 
Dated Barcelona, May 28, 1498. 

914. Copy of the instructions for preparation for his second voyage given to 

Columbus by Ferdinand and Isabella. 
Dated May 29, 1493. 

915. Letter from the sovereigns of Spain to Christopher Columous concern- 

ing certain expeditions of the King of Portugal, and informing him 
that the book which he left with them would be forwarded to him by 
Don Juan de Fonseca. 
Dated June 1, 1493. 

916. Letter from the sovereigns of Spain to Columbus assuring him of the 

peaceful intentions of the King of Portugal. 

Dated June 12, 1493. 

917. Royal letters patent from the sovereigns of Spain directing Christopher 

Columbus to return to the Indies. 

Dated Medina del Canipo, June 22, 1493. 

918. Letter from Queen Isabella to Columbus recommending Juan Aguado 

to a good position in his fleet. 

Dated June 30, 1493. 

919. Letter from the sovereigns to Christopher Columbus urging him to 

hasten his departure to the Indies. 

Dated August 18, 1493. 

920. Letter from the sovereigns of Spain to Christopher Columbus, asking 

his opinion in regard to a certain document which had been prepared 
in reply to the King of Portugal. 
Dated Barcelona, Sejitember 5, 1493. 

921. Letter from Queen Isabella to Columbus enclosing a copy of a book 

which he had left with her, asking him to send her a certain sailing 
chart, and urging him not to delay his departure. 
Dated September 5, 1493. 



ORIGINAL PAPERS PERTAINING TO COLUMBUS. I93 

922. Letter from the sovereigns of Spain to Christopher Columbus recom- 

mending the appointment of Sebastian de Olano as collector in the 

Indies. 

Dated August.4, 1493. 

923. Instructions from the sovereigns of Spain to Columbus concerning his 

second voyage. 

Dated Barcelona, March 30, and September 15, 1493; Medina del 
Campo, April 19, 1494; and Segovia, August 16, 1494. 

924. Decree of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella granting to Columbus 

an annuity of 10,000 maravedis, to be paid from the tax upon the 
butcher shops of Cordova during his lifetime. 
Dated at Valladolid, November 18, 1493. 

925. Original memoranda vyritten by Christopher Columbus to the sovereigns 

of Spain concerning the money required for the compensation and 
subsistence for six months for the three hundred people who were to 
accompany him on his second voyage. 

926. Letter from the sovereigns of Spain to Christopher Columbus acknowl- 

edging the receipt, with great gratification, of letters received by the 
hands of Antonio de Torres, and requesting him to send to Spain Bernal 
Diaz de Pisa, accountant of the expedition. 
Dated Medina del Campo, April 13, 1494. 

927. Letter from the sovereigns of Spain to Christopher Columbus. 

Dated Segovia, August 15, 1494, asking certain information and in- 
forming him of an agreement with the Kingdom of Portugal. 

928. Certificate of Rodrigo Perez, notary public in the city of Isabella, Santo 

Domingo, December 16, 1495. 

Concerning the contract made by the sovereigns of Spain with 
Christopher Columbus in the town of Santa Fe de la Vega de Granada, 
April 17, 1492. 

929. Decree of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella granting a coat-of-arms 

to Columbus, June, 1496. 

930. Letter from the sovereigns of Spain to Christopher Columbus, congrat- 

ulating him upon his return from his second voyage, and requesting 
him to report to the court at once. 
Dated July 12, 1496. 

931. Letter from the sovereigns of Spain to Christopher Columbus about 

gold, pearls and other treasure obtained in the Indies. 

Dated March 30, 1497. 
13 



194 THE RELICS OF COLUMBUS. 

932. Commission as adelantado mayor granted to Bartholomew Columbus 

by the sovereigns of Spain. 

Dated at Medina del Campo, July 22, 1497. 

933. Ordinances issued by the sovereigns of Spain to Christopher Columbus 

and the court of Santo Domingo for the clearance of certain ma- 
terials. 
Dated 1497. 

934. Copies of royal letters patent from the sovereigns granting to Chris- 

topher Columbus all the rights, titles, dignities and regalias enjoyed 
by the Admiral of Castile. Also copies of royal letters patent to 
towns established in Santo Domingo and contracts of Columbus 
with the sovereigns of Spain. 

These copies were made in this book by Columbus or by some clerk 
in his employ, and cover a period of twelve years. 

935. The will of Christopher Columbus. 

[Translation.] 

In the name of the Most Holy Trinity, who inspired me with the idea and afterward 
made it perfectly clear to me, that 1 could navigate and go to the Indies from Spain, by 
traversing the ocean westwardly; which I communicated to the King, Don Ferdinand, 
and to the Queen, Dona Isabella, our Sovereigns; and they were pleased to furnish me 
the necessary equipment of men and ships, and to make me their Admiral over the said 
ocean, in all parts lying to the west of an imaginary line, drawn from pole to pole, a 
hundred leagues west of the Cape de Verde and Azore Islands; also appointing me their 
Viceroy and Governor over all continents and islands that I might discover beyond the 
said line westwardly; with the right of being succeeded in the said offices by my eldest 
son and his heirs forever, and a grant of the tenth part of all things found in the said 
jurisdiction; and of all rents and revenues arising from it; and the eighth of all the 
lands and everything else, together with the salary corresponding to my rank of 
Admiral, Viceroy and Governor, and all other emoluments accruing thereto, as is more 
fully expressed in the title and agreement sanctioned by their Highnesses. 

And it pleased the Lord Almighty that in the year one thousand four hundred and 
ninety-two, I should discover the continent of the Indies and many islands, among 
them Espanola, which the Indians call Ayte and the Menicongos, Cipango. I then re- 
turned to Castile to their Highnesses, who approved of ray undertaking a second en- 
terprise for further discoveries and settlements, and Aie Lord gave me victory over the 
Island of Espanola, which extends six hundred leagues, and I conquered it and made 
it tributary; and I discovered many islands inhabited by cannibals, and seven hundred 
to the west of Espanola, among which is Jamaica, which we call Santiago; and three 
hundred and thirty-three leagues of continent from south to west, besides a hundred 
and seven to the north, which I discovered in my first voyage; together with many 
islands, as may more clearly be seen by my letters, memorials and maritime charts. 
And as we hoi>e in (iod that before long a good and great revenue will be derived from 
the above islands and continent, of which, for the reasons aforesaid, belong to me the 
tenth and the eighth, with the salaries and emoluments specified above; and consider- 
ing tliat we are mortal, and that it is proper for every one to settle his afifairs, and to 
leave declared to his heirs and successors the property he possesses or may have a right 



ORIGINAL PAPERS PERTAINING TO COLUMBUS. I95 

to; Wherefore, I have concluded to create an entailed estate (mayorazgo) out of the 
said eighth of the lands, places and revenues, in tlie manner which I now proceed to 
state : 

In the first place I am to be succeeded by Don Diego, ray son, who, in case of death 
without children, is to be succeeded by my other son, Ferdinand; and should God dis- 
pose of him also without leaving cliildren and without my having any other son, then 
my brother, Don Bartholomew, is to succeed; and after him his eldest son; and if God 
sliould dispose of him without heirs, he shall be succeeded by his sons from one to 
another forever; or, in the failure of a son, to be succeeded by Don Ferdinand, after 
the same manner, from son to son, successively; or in their place by my brothers, 
Bartholomew and Diego. And should it please the Lord that the estate, after having 
continued some time in the line of any of the above successors, should stand in need of 
an immediate and lawful male heir, the succession shall then devolve to the nearest re- 
lation, being a man of legitimate birth and bearing the name of Columbus derived from 
his father and his ancestors. This entailed t>state shall in nowise be inherited by a 
woman, except in case that no male is to be found, either in this or any other quarter of 
the world, of my real lineage, whose name, as well as that of liis ancestors, shall have 
always been Columbus. In such an event (which may God forefend), then the female 
of legitimate birth most nearly related to the preceding possessor of the estate shall 
succeed to it; and this is to be under the conditions herein stipulated at foot, which 
must be understood to extend as well to Don Diego, my son, as to the aforesaid and 
■their heirs, every one of them, to be fulfilled by them; and failing to do so they are to 
be deprived of the succession for not having complied with what shall herein be ex- 
pressed; and the estate to pass to the person most nearly related to the one who held 
the right; and the person thus succeeding shall in like manner forfeit the estate, 
should he also fail to comply with said conditions; and another person, the nearest of 
my lineage, shall succeed, provided he abide by them, so that thoy may be observed in 
the form prescribed. This forfeiture is not to be incurred fur trifling matters, originating 
in lawsuits, but in important cases, when the glory of (lod, or my own, or that of my 
family may be concerned, which supposes a perfect fulfillment of all the things hereby 
ordained; all which I recommend to the Cpurts of Justice. And I supi)licate His 
Holiness, who now is, and those who may succeed to the holy church, that if it should 
happen that this, my will and testament, has need of his holy order and command for 
its fulfillment, that such order be issued in virtue of obedience and under penalty of 
excommunication, and that it shall not be in any wise disfigured. And I 
also pray the King and Queen, our Sovereigns, and their eldest born. Prince Don Juan, 
our Lord, and their successors, for the sake of the services I have done them, and be- 
cause it is just, an-^ :hat it may please them not to permit tliis, my will and constitu- 
tion of my entailed estate, to be any way altered, but to leave it in the form and man- 
ner which I have ordained forever, for the greater glory of tlio Almighty, and that it 
may be the root and basis of my lineage, and a memento of the services I have 
rendered their Highnesses; that, being born in Genoa, I came over to serve them in 
Castile and discovered to the west of terra tirma the Indies and islands before 
mentioned. I accordingly pray their Highnesses to order that this, my privilege aud 
testament, be held valid and be executed summarily, and without any opposition or do- 
mur, according to the letter. I also pray the grandees of the reahn and the lords of the 
council, and all others having administration of justice to be pleased not to suffer this, 
my will and testament, to be of no avail, but to cause it to be fulfilled as by me 
ordained; it being just that a noble, who has served the King and Queen and tho king- 
dom, sliould be respected in tlie disposition of his estate by will, testament, institution 
of entail or inheritance, and tliat tlie same be not infringed either in whole or in part. 

In the first place, my son, Don Diego, and all my successors and descendants, as well 



196 THE RELICS OF COLUMBUS. 

as my brothers, Bartholomew and Diego, shall bear my arms, such as I shall leave them 
after my days, withont inserting anything else in them; and they shall be their seal to 
seal with all. Don Diego, my son, or any other who may inherit this estate, on coming 
in possession of the inheritance, sliall sign with the signature which 1 now make use 
of, which is an X with an S over it, and an M with a Roman A over it, and over that an 
S, and then a Greek Y, with an S over it, with its lines and points as is my custom, as 
may be seen by my signatures, of which there are many, and it will be seen by the pres- 
ent one. 

He shall only write "The Admiral," whatever other titles the King may have con- 
ferred on him. This is to be understood as respects his signature, but not the enumer- 
ation of his titles, which he can make at full length if agreeable, only the signature is 
to be "The Admiral." 

The said Don Diego, or any other inheritor of this estate, shall possess my offices of 
the Admiral of the Ocean, which is to the west of an imaginary line, which his liigh- 
ness ordered 1.0 be drawn, running from pole to pole a Imndred leagues beyond the 
Azores, and as many more beyond the Cape deVerde Islands,over[all of which I was made 
by their order, tlieir Admiral of the Sea, with all the pre-eminences held by Don Hen- 
■ rique in the Admiralty of Castile; and tliey made me their Governor, and Viceroy per- 
petually and forever, over all the islands and mainlands discovered, or to be dis- 
covered, for myself and heirs, as is more fully shown by my treaty and privilege as 
above mentioned. 

Item. The said Don Diego, or any other inheritor of this estate, shall distribute 
the revenue which it may please our Lord to grant him, in the following manner, under 
the above penalty. 

First. Of the whole income of this estate, now and at all times, and of whatever may 
be had or collected from it, he shall give the fourth part of it to my brother, Don Barthol- 
omew Columbus, adelantado of the Indies; and this is to continue until he shall have 
acquired an income of a million of maravedises* for his support, and for the services he 
has rendered and will continue to render to this entailed estate; which million he is to 
receive, as stated, every year, if the said fourth amount to so much, and that he have 
notliing else; but if he possesses a part or the whole of that amount in rents, that 
henceforth he shall not enjoy tlie said million, nor any part of it, except that he shall 
have ia the fourth year part unto tlie said quantity of a million, if it should amount to 
so much; andas much as he shall have a revenue besides this fourtli part, whatever sum 
of maravedises of known rent from property or perpetual offices, the said quantity 
of rent or revenue from property or offices shall be discontinued; and from said million 
shall be reserved whatever marriage portion he may receive with any female he may 
acquire or may have over and above his wife's dowery; and when it shall please God 
that he or his heirs and descendants shall derive from their property and offices a reve- 
nue of a million arising from rents, neither he nor his heirs shall enjoy any longer any- 
tliing from the said fourtli part of the entailed estate which shall remain with Don 
Diego, or whoever may inherit. 

Item. From tlie revenues of the said estate, or from any fourth part of it (should 
its amount be adequate to it), shall be paid every year to my son Ferdinand two mill- 
ions, till such time as his revenue shall amount to two millions, in the same form and 
manner as in the case of Bartholomew, who, as well as his heirs, are to have the million 
or the part that may be wanting. 

Item. Tlie said Don Diego or Don Bartholomew shall make out of the said estate, 
for my brother Diego, such provision as may enable him to live decently, as he is my 
brother, to whom I assign no particular sum, as he lias attached himself to the church, 



^\l)nroxima oly thirty-five liundred dollars. 



ORIGINAL PAPERS PERTAINING TO COLUMBUS. I97 

and that will be given him which is right; and this is to be given him in a mass,and before 
anything shall have been received by Ferdinand, my son, or Bartholomew, my brother 
or their heirs; and also according:to the amount of the income of the estate And in 
case of discord, the case is to be referred to two of our relations, or other men of honor- 
and should they disagree among themselves, they will choose a third person as arbitra' 
tor, being virtuous and not distrusted by either party. 

Item. All this revenue which I bequeath to Bartholomew, to Ferdinand and to 
Diego, shall be delivered to and received by them as prescribed under the obligation of 
being faithful aud loyal to Diego, my son, or his heirs, they as well as their children- 
and should It appear that they, or any of them, had proceeded against liim in anythin-^ 
toucbmg Ins honor, or the prosperity of the family or of the estate either in word or 
deed, whereby might come a scandal and debasement to my family, and a detriment to 
my estate in that case, nothing farther shall be given to them or his from that time 
forward, inasmuch as they are always to be faithful to Diego and his successors 

Item. As It was my intention, when I first instituted this entailed estate to dis- 
pose, or that my son Diego should dispose for me, of the tenth part of the income in 
favor of the necessitous persons, as a tithe, and in commemoration of the Almighty 
and Eternal God; and persisting still in this opinion, and hoping that his High Majesty 
will assist me, and those who may inherit it, in this or the New World, I have resolved 
that the said tithe shall be paid in the manner following : 

First. It is to be understood that the fourth part of the revenue of the estate which I 
have ordained and directed to be given to Don Bartholomew, until he have an income 
of one million, includes the tentli of the whole revenue of the estate; and that as in pro 
portion as the income of my brother Don Bartholomew shall increase, as it has to be 
discounted from the revenue of the fourth part of the entailed estate, that the said reve 
nue shall be calculated, to know how much the tenth part amounts to- and the part 
which exceeds what is necessary to make up the million fur Don Bartholomew shall be 
received by each of my family as may most stand in need of it, discounting it from the 
said tenth, if their income do not amount to the fifty thousand maravedises; and should 
any of these come to have an income to this amount, such a part shall be awarded to 
them as two persons, chosen for the purpose, may determine along with Don Diego or 
his heirs. Thus, it is to be understood Xh^t the million which I leave to Bartholomew 
comprehends the tenth of the whole revenue of the estate; which revenue is to be dis 
tributecl among my nearest and most needy relations in the manner I have directed; and 
when Don Bartholomew has an income of one million, and that nothing more shall be 
due to him on account of said fourth part, then Don Diego, my son, or tlie persons which 
I shall herein point out, shaU inspect the accounts and so direct that the tenth of the 
revenue shall still continue to be paid to the most necessitous members of my familv 
that may be found in this or any other quarter of the world, who shall dili-.ent]y be 
sought out; and they are to be paid out of the fourth part from which Don Bartholo 
mew IS to derive his million, which sums are to betaken into account, and deducted 
from the said tenth, which, should it amount to more, the overplus, as it arises from 
the fourth part, sh^l be given to to the most necessitous persons as aforesaid; and 
should it not be suificient, tliat Don Bartholomew shall have it until his own estate 
goes on increasing, leaving the said million in part or in the whole. 

Item. The said Don Diego, my son, or whoever may be the inheritor, shall appoint 
two persons of conscience and authority, and most nearly related to the family who are 
to examine the revenue and its amount carefully, and to cause the tenth to be paid out 
of the fourth from which Don Bartholomew is to receive his million to liis most neces- 
sitous members of my family who may be found here or elsewhere, whom they shaU 
look for diligently upon their consciences; and as it might happen that said Don Diego 
or others after him, for reasons wliich may concern their own welfare, or the credit or 



198 



THE RELICS OF COLUMBUS. 

support of the estate, may be unwilling to make known the full amount of the income, 
nevertheless I charge him on his conscience to pay the sum aforesaid and charge them 
on their souls and consciences not to denounce or make it known, except with the con- 
sent of Don Diego, or the person that may succeed him, but let the above tithe be paid 
in the manner I have directed. 

Item. In order to avoid all disputes in the clioice of the two nearest relations who 
are to act with Don Diego or his heirs, I hereby elect Don Bartholomew, my brother, 
for one, and Don Fernando, my son, for the other; and when these two shall enter upon 
the business they shall choose two other persons among the most trusty, and most 
nearly related, and tliese again shall elect two others, when it shall be question of com- 
mencing the examination; aud thus it shall be managed with diligence from one to the 
other, as well in this as in the other of govermnent, for the service and glory of God, 
and the benefit of the said entailed estate. 

Item. I also enjoin Diego, or any one that may inherit the estate, to have and main- 
tain in the city of Genoa one person of our lineage to reside there with his wife, and 
appoint him a sufficient revenue to enable him to live decently, as a person closely 
connected with the family, of which he is to be the root and basis in that city; from 
which great good may accrue to him, inasmuch as I was born there, and came from 
them thence. 

Item. The said Don Diego, or whoever shall inherit the estate, must remit in bills, 
or in any other way, all such sums as he may be able to save out of the revenue of the 
estate, and direct purchases to be made in his name, or that of his heirs, in a fund in 
the Bank of St. George,* which gives an interest of six per cent, and is secure money; 
and this shall be devoted to the purpose I am about to explain. 

Item. As it becomes every man of rank and property to serve God, either personally 
or by means of his wealth, and as all moneys deposited with St. George are quite safe, 
and Genoa is a noble city and powerful by the sea, and as at the same time that I un- 
dertook to set out upon that discovery of the Indies, it was with the intention of sup- 
plicating the King and Queen, our lords, that whatever moneys should be derived from 
the said Indies should be invested in the conquest of Jerusalem; and as I did so sup- 
plicate them; if they do this, it will be well; if not, at all events the said Diego, or such 
persons as may succeed him in this trust, to collect together all the money he can, and 
accompany the King, our lord, should he go to the conquest of Jerusalem, or else go 
there himself with all the force he can command; and in pursuing this intention, it 
will please tlie Lord to assist toward the accomplishment of the plan; and should he 
not be able to effect the conquest of the whole, no doubt he will achieve in part. Let 
him therefore collect and make a fund of all his wealth in St. George in Genoa, and 
let it multiply there until such time as it may appear to him that something of conse- 
quence may be effected as respects the project on Jerusalem; fori believe that when 
their highnesses shall see that this is contemplated, they will wish to realize it them- 
selves, or will afford him, as their servant and vassal, the means of doing it for them. 

Item. I charge my son Diego and my descendants, especially whoever may inherit 
this estate, which consists, as aforesaid, of the tenth of whatsoever may be had or 
found in the Indies, and the eighth part of the lands and rents, all which, together with 
my rights and emoluments as admiral, viceroy and governor, amount to more than 
twenty-five per cent., I say, that I require of him to employ all this revenue, as well as 
his person, and all the means in his power, in well and faithfully serving and support- 
ing their highnesses, or their successors, even to the loss of, life and property; since it 
was their higlmesses, next to God, who first gave the means of getting and achieving 
this property, although, it is true, I came ov.=r these realms to invite them to the enter- 
prise, and that a long time elapsed before any provision was made for carrying it into 

* The great financial corporation of Genoa, 



ORIGINAL PAPERS PERTAINING TO COLUMBUS. IQQ 

execution; which, however, is not surprising, as this was an undertaking of which all 
the world was ignorant, and no one had any faith in it; wlierefore, I am by so much 
more indebted to them, as well as because they have since also much favored and 
promoted me. 

Item. 1 also require of Diego, or whosoever may be in possession of the estate, that 
in the case of any schism taking place in the church of God, or that any person of what- 
ever class or condition should attempt to despoil it of its property and honors they 
hasten to offer at the feet of his Holiness, that is, if they are not heretics (which God 
forbid), their persons, power and wealth, for the purpose of suppressing such schism, 
and preventing any spoliation of the honor and property of the church. 

Item. I command the said Diego, or whoever may possess the said estate, to labor 
and strive for the honor, welfare and aggrandizement of the city of Genoa, and to make 
use of all his power and means in defending end enhancing the good and credit of that 
republic, in all things not contrary to the ser^ ice of the church of God, or the high 
dignity of the King and Queen, our lords and their successors. 

Item. The said Diego, or whoever may possess or succeed to the estate, out of the 
fourth part of the whole revenue, from which, as aforesaid, is to be taken a tenth, when 
Don Bartholomew or his heirs shall have saved the two millions, or part of them, and 
when the time shall come of making a distribution among our relations, shall apply 
and invest the said tenth in providing marriages for such daughters of our lineage as 
may require it, and in doing all the good in their power. 

Item. When a suitable time shall arrive, he shall order a church to be built in the 
island of Espanola, and in the most convenient spot, to be called Santa Maria de la 
Concepcion; to which is to be annexed an hospital, upon the best possible plan, like 
those of Italy and Castile, and a chapel be erected to say mass in for the' good of my 
soul, and those of my ancestors and successors with great devotion, since no doubt it 
will please the Lord to give us a sufficient revenue for this and the afore-mentioned pur- 
poses. 

Item. I also order Diego my son, or whosoever may inherit after him, to spare no 
pains in having and maintaining in the island of Espanola, four good professors in 
theology, to the end and aim of their studying and laboring to convert to our holy 
faith the inhabitants of the Indies; and in proportion as by God's will the revenue of 
the estate sliall increase in the same degree shall the number of teachers and devout 
persons increase, who are to strive to make Christians of the natives; in attaining 
which no expense should be thought too great. And in commemoration of all that I 
hereby ordain, and of the foregoing, a monument of marble shall be erected in the said 
church of L;i Concepcion, in the most conspicuous place, to serve as a record of what 
I here enjoin on the said Diego, as well as to other persons who may look upon it; 
which marble shall contain an inscription to the same effect. 

Item. I also require of Diego, my son, and whosoever may succood him in the estate, 
that every time, and as often as he confesses, he first show his obligation, or a copy of 
it, to the confessor, praying him to read it through, that he may be enabled to inquire 
respecting its fulfillment; from which will redound great good and happiness to his 
soul. 

S. 
S. A. S. 
X. M. Y. 

El Aim i ran to. 

936. Memorandum submitted by Christopher Columbus to the council of the 
Indies concerning his arrest and imprisonment, and declaring his inno- 
cence of the charges. 



200 THE RELICS OF COLUMBUS. 

937. Letter from Christopher Columbus to the Pope of Rome. 

Dated February, 1502. 

938. Letter from the sovereigns of Spain to Christopher Columbus, contain 

ing instructions concerning his fourth voyage. 
Dated Valencia de la Torre, March 19, 1502. 

939. Letter of Christopher Columbus to his son Diego. 

November 21, 1504. 

940. Letter of Christopher Columbus to his son Diego. 

November 28, 1504. 

941. Letter of Christopher Columbus to his son Diego. 

December 1, 1504. 

942. Letter of Christopher Columbus to his son Diego. 

December 3, 1504. 

943. Letter of Christopher Columbus to his son Diego. 

December 13, 1504. 

944. Letter of Christopher Columbus to his son Diego. 

December 21, 1504. 

945. Letter of Christopher Columbus to his son Diego. 

December 29, 1504. 

946. Letter of Christopher Columbus to his son Diego. 

January 18, 1505. 

947. Letter of Christopher Columbus to his son Diego. 

February 5, 1505. 

948. Letter of Christopher Columbus to his son Diego. 

February 5, 1505. 

949. Memorial of Christopher Columbus to the sovereigns of Spain in behalf 

of his son Diego. 

950. Letter from Christopher Columbus to the Rev. Father Don Caspar 

Gorricio de las Cuevas. 

April 4, 1502. 

951. Letter of Christopher Columbus to the Rev. Father Don Caspar Gorri- 

cio de las Cuevas. 

September 4, 1502. 

952. Letter from Christopher Columbus to the Rev. Father Don Caspar 

Gorricio de las Cuevas. 

July 7, 1503. 

953. Letter from Christopher Columbus to the Rev. Father Don Caspar 

Gorricio de las Cuevas. 

January 4, 1505. 



ORIGINAL PAPERS PER PAINING TO COLUMBUS. 201 

954. Letters from King Ferdinand Vto Diego Columbus. 

Dated Naples, November 26, 1506. 

955. Copy of the will of Diego Hernandez, who accompanied Christopher 

Columbus on several of his voyages. 

This document contains important evidence submitted by the heirs of 
Columbus to sustain their clanns against the crown of Spain. 

956. Commission as admiral of the Indies. 

Granted to Don Luis, the grandson of Christopher Columbus. 
Dated May 24, 1537. 

957. Commission as adelantado mayor of the Indies. Granted by the sov- 

ereigns of Spain to Diego Columbus. 
Dated Valladolid, June 16, 1515. 

958. Confirmation by the sovereigns of Spain of the title given to Chris- 

topher Columbus as admiral and perpetual viceroy of the Indies. 
April 24, 1497. 

959. Fac-simile of a letter of Columbus to Ferdinand and Isabella concerning 

the colonization and commerce of the Island of Hispaniola. 
Written between July 5 and September 25, 1493, before starting on his 
second voyage. 

Most High and Mighty Sovereigns:* 

In obedience to Your Highnesses' commands, and with submission to superior judg- 
ment, I will say whntever occurs to me in reference to the colonization and commerce 
of the island of Hisi^anola, aiid of the other islands, both those already discovered and 
those that may be discovered hereafter. 

In the tirst place, as regards the island of Hispafiola: Inasmuch as the number of 
colonists who desire to go thither amounts to two thousand, owing to the land being 
safer and bettr for farming and trading, and because it will serve as a place to which 
they can return and from which they can carry on trade with the neighboring islands. 

Item. That in the said island tliere shall be founded three or four towns, situated in 
the most convenient places, and that the settlers who are there be assigned to the afore- 
said places and towns. 

Item. That for the better and more speedy colonization of the said island, no one 
shall have liberty to collect gold in it except those who liave taken out colonists' papers 
and have built houses for their abode, in the town in which they are, that they may live 
united and in greater safety. 

Item. That each town shall have its alcalde or alcaldes, and its notary public, as is 
the use and custom in Castile. 

Item. That there shall be a church, and parish priests or friars to administer the sac- 
raments, to perform divine worship, and for the conversion of the Indians. 



''This letter has been assigned tothe year 1 197, but the internal evidence indicates that 
it was written before Columbus sailed on his second voyage, as the number of colonists 
he spoaks of as wishing to go agrees with the statements as to the size of the second 
expedition. This fixes the date between July 1st and September 23, 1493. It is thus 
the first suggestion of a code of American laws. 



202 THE RELICS OF COLUMBUS/ 

Item. That none of the colonists shall go to seek gold without a license from the 
governor or alcalde of the town where he lives; and that he must first take oath to 
return to the place whence he sets out, for the purpose of registering faith^fully all the 
gold he may have found, and to return once a month, or once a week, as the time may 
have been set for him, to render account and show the quantity of said gold; and that 
this shall be written, done by the notary before the alcalde, or, if it seems better, that a 
friar or a priest, deputied for the purpose, shall also be present. 

Item. That the gold thus brought in shall be smelted immediately, and stamped with 
some mark that shall distinguish each town; and that the portion which belongs to 
Your Highnesses shall be weighed, and given and consigned to each alcalde in his own 
town, and registered by the above-mentioned priest or friar, so that it shall not pasi 
through the hands of only one person, and there shall be no opportunity to conceal the 
truth. 

Item. That all gold that may be found without the mark of one of the said towns in 
the possession of any one who has once registered in accordance with the above order, 
sliall be taken as forfeited, and that the accuser shall have one portion of it and Your 
Highnesses the other. 

Item. That one per centum of all the gold that may be found shall be set aside for 
building churches and adorning the same, and for the support of the priests or friars 
belonging to them; and, if it should be thought proper to pay anything to the alcaldes 
or notaries for their services, or for insuring the faithful performance of their duties, 
that this amount shall be sent to the governor or treasurer who may be appointed there 
by Your Highnesses. 

Item. As regards the division of the gold, and the share that ought to be reserved 
for Your Highnesses, this, in my opinion, must be left to the aforesaid governor and treas- 
urer, because it will have to be greater or less, according to the quantity of gold that 
may be found. Or, should it seem preferable, Your Highnesses might, for the space of 
one year, take one-half, and the collector the other, and a better arrangement for the 
division be made afterward. 

Item. That if the said alcaldes or notaries shall commit or be privy to any fraud, 
punishment shall be provided; and the same for the colonists who shall not have 
declared all the gold they have. 

Item. That in the said island there shall be a treasurer, with a clerk to assist him 
who shall receive all the gold belonging to Your Highnesses, and the alcaldes and nota- 
ries of the towns shall each keep a record of what they deliver to the said treasurer. 

Item. As, in the eagerness to get gold, every one will wish, naturally, to engage in its 
search in preference to any other employment, it seems to me that the privilege of going 
to look for gold ought to be withheld during some portion of each year, that there may 
be opportunity to have the other business necessary for the island performed. 

Item. In regard to the discovery of new countries, I think permission should be 
to all that wish to go, and more liberality used in the matter of the fifth, making the 
tax easier, in some way, in order that many may be disposed to go on the voyage. 

I will now give my opinion about ships going to the said island of Espanola, and the 
order that should be maintained; and that is, that the said ships should only be allowed 
to discharge in one or two ports designated for the purpose, and should regijjter there 
whatever cargo they bring or unload; and when the time for their departure comes, that 
they should sail from these same ports, and register all the cargo they take in, that noth- 
ing may be concealed. 

Item. In reference to the transportation of gold from the island to Castile, that all 
of it should be taken on board the ship, both that belonging to Your Highnesses and the 
property of every one else; that it should all be placed in one chest with two locks, with 
their keys, and that the master of the vessel keep one key, and some person selected by 



ORIGINAL PAPERS PERTAINING TO COLUMBUS. 203 

the governor and treasurer the other; that there should come with the gold, for a testi- 
mony, a list of all that has been put into the said chest, properly marked, so that each 
owner may receive his own; and that, for the faithful performance of this duty, if any 
gold whatsoever is found outside of the said chest in any way, be it little or much, it 
shall be forfeited to Your Highnesses. 

Item. That ail the ships that come from the said island shall be obliged to make their 
proper discharge in the port of Cadiz, and that no person shall disembark or other per- 
son be permitted to go on board until tlie ship has been visited by the person or persons 
deputied for that purpose, in the said city, by Your Highnesses, to whom the master 
shall show all that he carries, and exhibit the manifest of all the cargo, that it may be 
seen and examined if the said ship brings anything hidden and not known at the time 
of lading. 

Item. That tlie chest in which the said gold has been carried shall be opened in the 
presence of the magistrates of the said city of Cadiz, and of the person deputied for 
that purpose by Your Highnesses, and his own property be given to each owner. I beg 
Your Highnesses to hold me in your protection, and I remain, praying our Lord God 
for Your Highnesses' lives and the increase of much greater states, 

S. A. S. 

X. M. Y 

Xpo FERENS. 

980. Carved wooden case in which the Duke of Veragua preserves the man- 
uscripts of Columbus belonging to his collection. 



204 'I'HE RELICS OF COLUMBUS. 



SECTION P. ORIGINAL PAPERS PERTAINING TO COLUMBUS. 
LOANED BY THE DUQUESA DE BERWICK Y ALBA* 



967. Original draft of letter of Columbus relating to his claims against the 
crown of Spain, based upon the privileges and concessions granted 
to him by the contract with the Spanish sovereigns, Ferdinand and 
Isabella. 

Columbus' autographic copy of a paper, on the back of which he 
wrote the following words: 

"Report on my privileges and concessions. 

Jhs cumas. t no ..." 

(Jesus cum Mari sit nobis in vita, 

or in English; 

May Jesus and Mary be with us in life.) 

[Translation.] 
Magnificent Sibs: 
It appears from your privilege and the articles of agreement entered into with yon, 
that their Highnesses appointed you Admiral of the Ocean Seas, which they defined by 
causing a line to be drawn from pole to pole, crossing the Cape Verde Islands and the 
Azores, and that they granted to you exactly the same rights, honors, and favors as are 
enjoyed by the Lord Admiral of Castile within his own district. 

Item. They graciously appointed you also Viceroy and Governor-General of all the 
islands and continents, whether already discovered or to be discovered, on the other 
side f)f the line aforesaid, and they granted you the power to appoint all the officers who 
should be required for the administration of the government of the said islands and 
continents. 

Item. They also gave you the tenth of everything received from the district subject to 
your jurisdiction as Admiral, after deducting the exjienses. 

Item. They gave you, likewise, the eighth of all the profits made out of expeditions, 
or fleets sent to the Indies, to the equipment of which you had contributed by paying 
one-eighth of the expenses. 

It appears from the acts of confirmation of your privileges that yon are the discoverer 
of the islands and continents of the Indies. If anything is now discovered there, it will be 
owing to you and your industry, and can not properly be called discovery. You are the 
one who discovered the Indies, in spite of the doubts which were raised about their exist- 
ence, .ind of the great opposition raised against you both by men of learning, and by 
people of practical knowledge in navigation and matters connected with the sea, who 
all said that you were joking and that God had never placed any land where you said. 
Whoever goes now to the Indies, even if he goes to places where you never set your foot, 
can not as against you be called a discoverer, for he only goes to a district which is 
already under your jurisdiction as Admiral, and enters seas or lands which were discov- 
ered by you. Under these circumstances, your rights and authority as Admiral and Viceroy 

*These documents were loaned by the Duchess of Berwick-Alba at the request of tlie presi- 
dent of the United States under the authority of congress. 



ORIGINAL PAPERS PERTAINING TO COLUMBUS. 205 

and Governor-General, and your power to make appointments for all offices, are to be 
exercised in and over the whole district, whether in land or on the sea, whether already 
traveled or to be traveled hereafter, on the other side of the line whicli has been men- 
tioned before. Beyond that line you are the only one having autliority to attend in tlie 
name of their Highnesses to all the business of tlie Government, to hear and decide all 
cases and causes, to affix the Royal Seal entrusted to you for such purposes, to all let- 
ters patent to be issued there, to administer justice in civil and criminal matters, and 
to have and exercise full power and jurisdiction in everything relative to the adminis- 
tr.ation of said Government, as more in full described in the ordinances and letters of 
concession and privileges which 1 have examined. 

It appears, furtliermore, that by a Royal letter of 1497, issued at Medina, their High- 
nesses freed you from sharing the expenses incurred up to that date on account of this 
business, and exempted yim also from contributing toward defraying the expenses 
of the expedition which was then being equipped, and you had to take to tho Indies. 
Tlie said Royal letter says that you are bound to pay nothing on this account, except in 
case of expenses incurred subsequent to your arrival to Hispaniola. Yon are free from 
paying expenses prior to that moment ; but you can not, either, demand anything out 
of what was brought here during the same period. 

As you admit to having arrived there on the 31st of August, 1489, a liquidation must 
be made of all the expenses incurred ever since, and you shall be bound to contribute 
such portion thereof as has been agreed upon. 

From the agreements entered into with the Lord Admiral of Cactile, it appears that 
he is entitled to one-third of all the profits made on the sea, either by him or their 
Highnesses' navy. Whereupon, under your own letters of concession, wliich gave you 
exactly the same rights and privileges as are given the Lord Admiral of Castile, you are 
entitled to a third of tlie profits. 

It appears from the agreements entered into with you in regard to the share you 
onght to have out of the profits made and to be made in this business of the Indies, that 
the said share belongs to you under three different considerations and for three different 
reasons. Your share under each head is clearly stated, and there is no possibility of 
error or misunderstanding in this respect. The liquidation of the profit is simply a 
matter of arithmetic, as in the following example: 

A man fits out a vessel and says to one of his servants: I make you master of this 
vessel; go, and yon shall liave one-third of all the profits. Then lie calls another serv- 
ant and says to him: Go on board the vessel to be the purser and you shall have the 
tenth. Finally he calls a third servant and tells him: Go as a clerk, and whereas you 
have contributed one-eighth of the expenses you shall have also the eighth part of the 
profits. 

The vessel sailed, and on her return it was found out that the profits amounted to ten 
ducats. The master says then to the man who fitted out the vessel : " Sir, the profits 
amount to ten ducats, order the third part of that sum to be given to me as promised," 
and so he ordered. Then comes the purser and says : " Sir, the profits were ten ducats ; 
order a tenth of that sum to be given to me as promised," and so he ordered. Finally 
the clerk comes and says : " Sir, I contributed one-eighth of the expenses to fit "ut this 
vessel ; the profits made by her are ten ducats ; cause one-eighth of these ten ducats to 
be given to me," and so he did. 

An account like this is to be made to liquidate the share which, under the concessions 
made in your favor in this business of the Indies, belongs to you. It would be wrong 
to give you the tenth of the whole, and then the eighth of the balance not of tlie whole, 
and then the third of the second balance, and not also of the whole. Such a manner of 
making the calculation would be unacceptable, as each chapter or heading clearly fixes 
the portion which under it must be paid to you. 



206 THE RELICS OF COLUMBUS. 

In regard to tho expenses my opinion is tliat as our Lonl has given enough in tliis 
business to pay amply all those which have be?n incurred, you miglit as well be satis- 
fied with seeing them paid, if so pleases their Highnesses, out of the gold or anything 
else of value which may be found there, and with having your share of the profits paid 
to you by their Highnesses out of the net balance. 

I have noticed that your deeds contain a provision, made by their Highnesses, order- 
ing that nothing must bo done in regard to the Indies without your personal interven- 
tion or tho intervention of a person having your power of attorney. 

I have also noticed another provision under whicli nothing can be sent to the Indies 
without your signature and the signature of tlio person appointed at Cadiz for such pur- 
poses by their Highnesses, nor can anything brought from the Indies be received here 
witliout the signature both of the said person and of tho deputy comptroller. 

I have seen also a bull of the Holy Father which is on file among your papers, 
which states that you were and are tho one who discovered and won those Indies as a 
servant of their Higliuesses. 

From all yuur letters of privileges and concessions it appears, as already stated, that 
you must have by reason of your rights, equal to tliose of the Lord Admiral of Castile, 
one-third of everything obtained within the limits placed under your jurisdiction as 
Admiral of tho Ocean Sea, and by reason of your other concessions the eighth and the 
tenth of the same. If their Highnesses make some other concessions in the Indies 
without saying what is yours a wrong will bo inllicted upon you, and this wrong will 
be done whetlier the new concession applies to money matters or in regard to the right 
of making appointments, or whether it concerns so-callod new discoveries or not. The 
discovery of tho Indies was, as above stated,- the basis and tlio consideration upon 
wluch the agreements wore made and entered into with you and executed and signed, 
and as st)on as you iliscovored tho first island you discovered tlie Indies, and your part 
of tho contract was fulfilled. It was then that tho Indies were given to tlieir High- 
nesses by tlie bull of donation issued by tl;e Pope. 

Their Highnesses are in conscience bound to imdemnify you for all damnges which 
any deprivation of your rights may cause you to sustain. 

Gentlemen, I ask for nothing, and I place into the I'oyal liauds of the Queen and 
refer to licr all that is stated in the foregoing writing. 1 shall show to your lordships 
my titles and letters of privilege wlienever desired. 

Another privilege whidi 1 have seen in your papers granted to you is the power to 
convey your olHco of Viceroy and Atlmiraland (_rovernt>r-(ieneral and all your property 
unto Don Diego, your son, or unto whomsoever you may be pleased, and that none of 
the said otlicos and nothing of tho said property can ever be taken away, whether for 
debts or criminal offence, unless the latter is a crime lessae majestatis. 

968. Original autographic statement by Columbus of gold brought from 
America and sold by him in Castile, with fac-simile and translation 
in " Autografos de Colon," Madrid, 1892. 

LTran'slation.] 

On July 13 Christobal do Torres sold at Seville, 2 marks. 7 ounces, 4 ochavas of gold, 

at 453, the weight of a ceslellano. On .\ugust I'J, at Valladolid, C-iirbajal sold 2 marks, 6 

ounces, 4 ochavas, 3 tomins, ahn(.>st all of which was given by him in payment of the 

clothing which he bouglu for himself. September 11, at Arcos, Carbajal sold ounces, 

2 ocliavas, 1 ttmiiu, 3 grains. All was sold at— September 111, Burgos, 4 ounces, 7 
ochavas, 3 tomins were weigliod. October 7, Carbajid sold 7 ounces, 4 ochavas, 5 tomins, 

3 grains, at 4 15. October 25, Burgos, Carbajal sold 7 ounces, 4 ochavas, 1 tomin, 10 
grains, at 445. November 12, Burgos Carbajal sold 1 mark, li ounces and 7 ochavas, less 
14 grains, at 446. December 17, l>urgt)s, Caibagal sold 7 ounces, 5 ochavas and 3 



ORIGINAL PAPERS PERTAINING TO COLUMBUS. 207 

tomins, at 446. January 10, Burgos, Carbajal sold 1 mark, 6 ounces,! ochavfe, at — 
February 6, Burgos, (^arbajal sold 7 ounces, 4 ochavas, 4 tomins, 4 grains, at 44S. Febru- 
ary 13, Burgos, Juan Antonio sold 7 ounces, 6 ochavae, 1 tomin, at 450. February 28, 
Burgos, Juan Antonio sold 4 marks, 5 ounces, 6 ochavas and 3 tomins, at 4*^; March 15, 
or before, Burgos, Juan xVntonio sold 1 mark (this item covers the transaction or busi- 
ness of the "fanda"), charged to him at 453. December 30, Burgos, Juan Aatonio sold 
to the silversmith who made the seal 4 ounces, 2 ochavas, 3 tomins, at 448. January 24, 
Burgos, Carhajal sold 1 mark, 4 ochavas, 3 tomins, at -- March 3, Juan Antonio gave 
to the silversmith in payment of the necklace made by him, 1 ounce and 3 tomins, at 
453, The sum of 91 reals was due to tbe said silversmith for 47 links, which the necklace 
has, at 2 reals per link. At the foot of the page on the left corner Columbus made the 
the following note: Two hundred and thirty-four doredos which Don Diego gave 

me on 

The title given by Columbus to this paper, written by him across the 
left margin, was: "Statement of the gold sold in Castile up to the 
months of " 

969. Original draft of letters of Columbus relating to his claims and privi- 

leges — a rough draft, with erasures and corrections all in the handwrit- 
ing of Columbus. 

Columbus states in what is left of the first paragraph that the Queen 
had suggested a compromise in regard to his claim of one-eightb of the 
profits free from expenses, and that he accei)ted it. 

In the second he speaks of the number of people he had to take to the 
Indies, and how in this respect, as in some others, the orders given and 
the promises made had been often modified. He says that all that he 
did was as directed by the persons to whom the Queen had entrusted 
this business. 

In the third he expresses his readiness to appoint some person to 
attend, in his name, to the settlements of his claims, if so desired. 

In the fourth he says that he never asked any value to be forcibly 
fixed for anything purchased for his vessels. He only had expressed the 
desire that when exorbitant prices were demanded, undue advantage 
being taken of the necessity of circumstances, an equitable reduction 
should be secured through the government. 

In the fifth he explains that he wishes in use of the privileges granted 
him to control the appointment of officers, not for the purpose of dis- 
tributing patronage and increasing the number of employes, who are 
already too many, but in order to watch them and remove them at once 
whenever necessary. 

In the sixth he says that he agrees to the measures suggested to avoid 
the thefts of gold. 

970. Original draft by Columbus for one hundred gold castellanos. 

Dated at Granada, 23d October, 1501. 

Most Virtuous Sib: 
i pray you to cause one hundred gold castellanos, which I need here to go to Sevillu 



2o8 THE RELICS OF COLUMBUS. 

to be loaned to rae. You will be pleased to order them to be given to the bearer, Diego 
Tristan, my majordomo, who will acknowledge the receipt thereof on the back of this 
draft. 
Done on Friday, the 22d of October, 15Q1. 

S. 

S. A. S. 

X. M. Y. 

The Admiral. 

On the back. (In the handwriting of some one else.) 

X 
The Admiral of the Indies. 3 x 1 v ii j p d. 
I, Dieso Tristan, do hereby acknowledge to have received of the treasurer, .Uonzo de 
Morales, the one hundred gold castellanos to which the present draft of the admiral 
refers, said amount being equal to 48,500 maravedis. In whose testimony I have here- 
unto subscribed my name, at Granada, on the 2:id of October, 1501. 

DIEGO TRISTAN. (Autograph.) 

Memorandum in continuation of the above in Columbus' handwriting: 
The above amount was deducted from the 150,000 which afterward were given to mo 

at Seville, by order of her Highness, to aid me in defraying the expenses, and the receipt 

of which I acknowledged. 

971. Original draft by Columbus in favor of Diego Rodriguez, dated 1504. 

Fb AN CISCO DE MoniLLO: 

Pay to Diego Rodriguez, the master of the vessel named — , as many dolhirs in 

gold as may be equivalent to sixteen thousand maravedis, the value of 40 quintals of 
hard tack which lie sold me for the use of tlie crew, at the rate of 400 maravedis the 
quintal. 

Pay him, furthermore, eight ducats, which are the price of two fixtures for the sails. 

Pay also to the taid Diego Rodriguez eiglity dollars in gold, which i= tlie fare of the 
25 persons who will go with me from here to Castile. 

He will acknowledge the receipt of all the above on the back of this draft. 

Done Friday, the 7th of September, 1504. 

Xpo FERENS. (Autograph.) 

972. Fragment of an envelope with the seal of Columbus and the v/ords "la 

corte" (the court), and his usual invocation, "Jesus cum Maria sit nobis 
in vita" (May Jesus and Mary be with us in life), written in his own 
hand on one edge. 

973. Draft drawn by Columbus in favor of Rodrigo Vizcaino and Francisco 

Nino, 1504. 

[Translation.] 

Francisco del Morillo: 

Pay Rodrigo Vizcaino 5!} reals, value of eight casks which were bought for the cara- 
vel, at tlie rate of seven reals each. The sum is equivalent to three dollars and a half. 

Pay also to Francisco Nino 9S reals, as follows: 42 reals for 4 casks, and the balance 
for 3 sets of hoops and rings for cooporag '. In all two dollars and a half and one 

min. 

Done at the ship of Diego Rodriguez tliis 8th day of September, 1504. 

Xpo FERENS. (Autograph.) 



974 



975 
976 



ORIGINAL PAPERS PERTAINING TO COLUMBUS. 20g 

Signature of Columbus as viceroy affixed at the foot of a commis^ 
sion issued by the Catholic kings, appointing Juan Pestana treasure! 
of the mint of the Isla Espanola. 

Preceded by statement of the date, also in Columbus' handwriting 
"Twenty-ninth day of January of the year of 
our Saviour one thousand and five hundred. 

S. 
S. A. S. 
X. M. Y. 

Supposed to be '^^^ ^^^^'^y- 

Servus 
Supplex Altissimi Salvatori 
Christus, Maria, Joseph. 
Or, in English, 

Humble Servant of the Most High Saviour, 
Christ, Mary and Joseph. 
Autographic paper given by Columbus to Juan Pestana, treasurer of 

the mmt, in the name of the Catholic sovereigns, 1500 
" Autografos de Cristobal Colon, y Papeles de America " 
Autographs of Christopher Columbus and American papers. Published 

iL P "'"'! °^ ^"'^'"^ y ^'^ Alba (CondessadeSiruela), Madrid, 
im. Presented by the Countess to William E. Curtis. Sumptuous 
and valuable work containing autographs of Columbus, autographic let- 
ters and papers referring to America. 

The Duchess of Berwick and Alba" has been for a number of years the 
leader of Madrid society, recognized as much alike by her position 
beauty and accomplishments. She is the daughter of the Duke of Fer- 
nan-Nunez, a famous name in Spain, and belongs to a family that has 
numbered the great ones of three centuries among its friends and 
admuers; as Velasquez, Titian. Cervantes, Calderon, Lope de Vega 
kings, queens and princes. She is as mtelligent and intellectual as she 
IS beaut, ul, and has recently given to the world the preceding volume 
extracted froni the famous archives of the House of Alba, which have so 
long contamed literary and historical treasures of inestimable value 
From this collection, which embraces documents of the reigns of Charles 
V and others, and which has been the object of many a literary pilgrim! 
age to Madr.d by devout students, the countess has taken the most im- 
portant, referrmg especially to Columbus and the early voyages to 
America, and has given them to the world in a volume that has received 
the encommms of all cntics. Published in 1892. with the special object 
of con tr,butn.g to the " Centenaria " at Madrid. The volume is also par- 
lit.on o[l893 "' "' ^PP^^^^"^^ "" ^his side of the water for the Expo- 
14 



210 THE RELIJS OF COLUMBUS. 



SECTION Q. THE VATICAN EXHIBIT. 



Valuable historical documents and objects of art from the 
archives of the Vatican. Loaned by His Holiness, Leo 
Xni, in compliance with a resolution of the Congress of 
the United States. 

HISTORICAI- DESCRIPTION OF THE LETTERS OF WHICH FAC-SIMILES HAVE 
BEEN SENT FROM THE VATICAN TO THE WORLD'S COLUMBIAN EXPO- 
SITION AT CHICAGO, 1893, BY J. C. HEYWOOD, ESQ., ROME, ITALY. 

The fac-similes of documents relating to the early history of America 
here exhibited are taken from the> famous series of the Papal Registers, 
or letter-books. These are a collection of more than 12,000 volumes in 
folio, written partly on parchment and partly on paper, and are pre- 
served in the secret archives of the Holy See, at the Vatican palace. 
Since 1879, by order of Leo XIII, these archives have been open, 
and their treasures accessible to students of history and investigators 
from all countries and of all religions. 

In these registers almost all the letters issued by the popes were re- 
corded before being sent to their destinations. They contain, also, the 
petitions received, and offer, therefore, original and most important ma- 
terials for the histories of all nations. 

The collection now begins with Pope Innocent III (1198-1216). All 
the portion of it prior to that date was lost or destroyed in the com- 
mencement of the thirteenth century. What remains is classified as 
follows: 

A. The Vatican Registers, over 2,000 volumes— 1198-1600. 

B. The Avignon Registers, about 350 volumes — 1316-1417. 

C. The Lateran Registers, about 2,300 volumes— 1417-1831. 

D. The Registers of the Requests, about 7,400 volumes — 1352-1831. 
It must cause a peculiar satisfaction to Leo XIII that oneof the early 

results of his enlightened liberality in opening the secret archives is, as 
shown by these letters, to make accessible, to all, proofs that, by whom- 
soever represented, the papacy has always been faithful to the divine 
mission which it claims for itself; that whenever discoveries of (till 



THE VATICAN EXHIBIT. 211 

then) unknown countries have been announced, it at once has made nro 
v,s.on for the preaching of the Gospel and the introduction of Chr"" 
tianity among the people of such countries 

ir:^^:^^,:!:^""''''-''"^'--^ '-^ shown, may be divided 
Those which relate to the bishopric of Gardar, m Greenland- 
1 hose which relate to the line of demarcation • 
Those which relate to the sending of missionaHes of America- and 
cZli:-''" '°^^ ^"'"^ '' '^^'--^^'^ BartholomeJTnd Diego 

V. DOCUMENTS CONCERNING THE BISHOPRIC OF GARDAR. GREENLAND 
Greenland certainly is the part of the New World which was first 
brought. nto relations with the old. This was done through thlNorth 
men of Norway and Iceland. It was by their means th.rri. ^ 
was first carried to America, and there give occasion for W 
in question. ^ ^'^^e occasion tor ihe documents 

According to Adam of Bremen (died about 1076) and the Sa^as Nor 
wegians first reached the American coast at the end o the^n Lh "; 

to King Olaf fl (died 1030)!'^" s^id'tl^L^hbisrop^ALlben":^^ 
men. m 1055. sent Albert as the first bishop to Gre:nra'nd. Thi"'b 1" 
ric certainly existed in 1124. It was the first bishopric erected in Am nca" 

The numerous researches and publications in reeard to th^.T 
of settlements which Christian G^reenlanders effect don he r^^^^^^^^ 
Contment, and in regard to the positions of the Helleland fhP M J ^ 
and the Vinland. make apparent, not only the possMv h f i^ 
probability that a considerable portion of^ht: coiUit'^'f'^ 
degree, at that time, the civilizing influence of the bishops of gI dar 

Rafn Identified the Vinland with Massachusetts. The quesut has 
L.ey been thoroughly re-examined by Storm. His opinion is tin 
Vinland. and, consequently, the extreme point reached by Chris hn 
Northmen, can not be sought for further south than Nova Scotia iTanv 
case the h.stor.c importance of the bishopric ofGardar is p^in ' 

Albano, Nicolas, who afterward Lca^^:;: "^^^TlotZ:! 

::::rH: :s;^- hr^;:;:^ t ^:t ^'-;r' ^^^ '^^^- 



212 THE RELICS OF COLUMBUS. 

985. Letter of Pope Innocent III, dated February 13, 1205. 

To the archbishop of Drontheim, confirming his metropolitan rights 
over the diocese of Greenland, which had been established by Pope 
Eugene III in 1148. 

986. Four letters of Pope John XXI, dated December 4, 1276. 

To the archbishop of Drontheim relative to the collection of funds in 
the diocese of Gardar in Greenland to carry on the crusade; containing 
also incidental references to the condition of the people in that diocese. 

987. Two letters of Pope Nicolas III. 

Dated respectively January 31 and June 9, 1279; one to the archbishops 
of Drontheim, Greenland, and the other to Bertrand Amalrica, relative 
to the collection of funds in the diocese of Gardar in Greenland to carry 
on the crusade, with other like mentions, 

988. Letter of Pope Martin IV. 

Dated March 4, 1281, to the archbishop of Drontheim, Greenland, rela- 
tive to the collection of funds in the diocese of Gardar in Greenland to 
carry on the crusade, with additional information. 

989. Letter from His Holiness, Pope Nicolas V. 

Dated Rome, September 20, 1448, to the Irish bishops of Skahlolt and 
Holar, concerning the condition of the church in Greenland. 
It has long been asserted by certain Scandinavian writers that the 
archives of the Vatican contain evidence to prove the alleged voyages 
of the Northmen to America in the tenth century, as related in the Ice- 
landic Sagas; and some years ago a woman petitioned the congress of 
the United States to request His Holiness, the Pope, to cause an inves- 
tigation to be made. No notice was taken of the petition, but it may be 
stated upon authority that no such documents exist. The records, how- 
ever, do show that the Scandinavian colonies in Greenland were under 
the supervision of the church as early as the beginning of the tenth cent- 
ury, and this letter from Pope Nicolas V, dated September 20, 1448, to 
the bishops of Iceland, refers to such colonies. It informs them that all 
the inhabitants and indigenous peoples of the Island of Grcenlandia 
(Greenland), situated at the farthest Arctic confines of the world, per- 
tain to the archbishopric of Drontheim, That for thirty years the 
pirates of the neighboring islands have devastated the country, leaving 
in the shelter of the craggy mountains only nine parish churches of that 
flourishing Christianity, founded six centuries before in that region 
under the Holy King Olaf and placed under the shelter of the Holy 
Apostolic See, where there was once a noted cathedral. The me- 
morial asserts that the barbarians had carried away many captives, 
of which a few had returned to their hearthstones and were occupying 



THE VATICAN EXHIBIT. 21 3 

themselves in repairing the ruins of the temples. For this reason the 
Pope gives authority to the above-named bishops, as the nearest to 
Groenlandia, to ordain priests and properly provide the parishes with 
churches, and to consecrate as bishop a suitable person, with the agree- 
ment or consent, if obtainable, of the Metropolitan. 
990. Letter of Pope Alexander VI, 1492-93. 

Appointing Matthew, a Benedictine monk, to the bishopric of Gardar, 
Greenland, briefly recounting the climatic conditions of the country, and 
especially the religious deprivations and needs of the people for the 
(then) last eighty or one hundred years. 



The letter of Innocent III, the earliest in order of time, and the first 
here exhibited (letter la), epitomizes the apostolic case with which his 
predecessors, in the twelfth century, had bestowed on the only part of 
America then known. 

In all ordinary matters the dioceses were governed by the bishops, 
without any direct interference on the part of the pope. But when 
Gregory X, in the council of Lyons (1274), ordered that a tithe of all 
ecclesiastical revenues should for six years be contributed, in order to 
provide means, at least to preserve the last Christian position in Pales- 
tine, which, after the death of Louis IX, of France (died August 25, 1270), 
seemed almost lost, such interference, in some cases, became necessary. 

The letters of the popes, written in these extraordinary circumstances 
to the archbishop of Drontheim, contain interesting information regard- 
ing the condition of the Greenlanders in the thirteenth century, and 
show that a part of America helped to furnish money for the crusade. 

The archbishop has informed the Pope (letters 2, 6) that it would take 
him five years, including the voyage to and from, to visit the diocese of 
Greenland, and has asked permission to send some proper persons in his 
place. Other letters (letters 3, 4) say that the archbishop would have to 
spend six years, in order to collect personally the tithes in his archdio- 
cese, and that in doing so he would be obliged to live sometimes five or 
more consecutive days in a tent while traveling through desert regions. 
Therefore he thinks it needful that a larger number of collectors should 
be appointed. 

In other letters (letters 5, 8) the archbishop notes the poverty of the 
country. The people had no money of any kind, and no grain or fruit 
could be grown. The inhabitants lived on milk, or food produced from 
it (laticinia), and fish. In Greenland particularly the people could offer 
nothing for the expenses of the crusade but skins, probably of the elk or 
of the musk-ox and of seals (coria bovina et phocarum), and the teeth and 
soper of whales (funes balenarum). The non-production of grain and 



214 THE RELICS OF COLUMBUS. 

grapes made it necessary for the faithful (letter 7) to provide for a 
supply of bread and wine to be used in celebrating the eucharist. 

From a letter of Pope Nicolas V, dated September 22, 1148 (letter 9), 
it appears that the Greenlanders attributed their conversion to St. Olaf, 
King of Norway (died lOoO); that they had built, besides a goodly num- 
ber of parish churches, a respectable cathedral at Gardar; that, about 
the year 1418, heathen foreigners, with a fleet, invaded their country, 
killed, or carried into slavery the inhabitants, and burned their habita- 
tions and buildings, leaving only nine churches, which were in the less 
accessible regions. Some of the captives, having escaped and returned 
to their own country, unable to go to the distant churches, have begged the 
Pope to provide them with priests and a bishop. Nicolas, therefore, 
empowers the two neighboring bishops of Iceland to satisfy the pious 
desires of the Greenlanders. 

The information contained in this letter of Nicolas V is, in some 
measure, completed and confirmed by one from Pope Alexander VI, 
written 1492-93, just when Columbus had made his great discovery. It 
seems that the letter of Nicolas did not reach its destination, or failed 
to effect its purpose. At any rate, the Greenlanders had addressed a 
petition to Innocent VIII, setting forth that for about eighty years (since 
the heathen invasion in about 1418) they had been deprived of priests 
and of a bishop. As a consequence many had already lost their faith, 
and to those who remained faithful the only memorial of Christian wor- 
ship yet belonging was the corporal on which, nearly one hundred years 
before, a priest had, for the last time among them, consecrated the 
blessed sacrament. Once every year this holy and venerated relic was 
shown to all the people. 

Before his elevation to the pontificate, Alexander, as chancellor, had 
proposed Matthew, a Benedictine monk, for the bishopric of Gardar. 

By this letter he frees him from the payment of all fees that were due 
in such cases, and lands the willingness with which he had undertaken 
the difficult mission. 

n. DOCUMENTS THAT RELATE TO THE LINE OF DEMARCATION. 

991. Bull of His Holiness, Alexander VI, to the sovereigns Ferdinand and 
Isabella of Spain, dated Rome, May 3, 1493. 

As early as 1438 the Pope had been called upon to settle the rivalries 
between Spain and Portugal, and had issued a bull authorizing the 
Spaniards to sail west and the Portuguese south. When Columbus 
returned from his first voyage the Spanish sovereigns notified the 
Vatican, and asked the authority of the church to continue the explora- 
tions. In response to this request, Alexander VI concedes the same 



THE VATICAN EXHIBIT. SltJ 

privileges over the West Indies, discovered and to be discovered, as 
were granted by the Holy See to the Kings of Portugal on the west 
coast of Africa, properly called, and of Guinea. 

992. Bull of His Holiness, Pope Alexander VI, to Ferdinand and Isabella, 
Supplemental. 

In regard to the grants and privileges in the West Indies and 
amplifying the same, Rome, May 4, 1493. 

993a. Bust of Pope Alexander VI. 

9Q3b. Portrait of Pope Alexander VI, from bust in the Imperial Museum, 
Berlin. 

994^ Bust of Pope Nicolas. 

Original in Imperial Museum, Berlin. 

995. Bull of the Pope Alexander VI to Ferdinand and Isabella, commending 
the discoveries of Columbus and drawing a line of demarcation 
between the dominions of Spain and Portugal, dated Rome, May 4, 
1493- 

The Portuguese ambassador at Rome, having under instructions from 
his sovereign questioned the discoveries of Columbus, the Pope issued 
a second edict, known as the Bull of. Demarcation, commending the 
achievements of Columbus and declaring that the Spaniards were 
entitled to possess, "on condition of planting the Catholic faith," all 
lands not already occupied by Christian powers, west of a meridian 
drawn one hundred leagues west of the Azores and Cape Verde 
Islancls. 

Acting on the approved general opinion, a common consent of the time, 
which acknowledged the right of popes to interfere authoritatively even in 
political and international affairs, when the welfare of souls are involved, 
the Portuguese kings commenced, with their discoveries along the west- 
ern coast of Africa, a series of demands for the exclusive right of dis- 
covery and colonization in thatclirection. This the popes, Martin V, 
Eugene IV, Nicolas V and Sextus IV, gradually ceded to them till 
their successive grants covered all the region from Ceuta around Africa 
to India. 

The discovery announced by Columbus, and believed, even by him- 
self till the day of his death, to be only a new and shorter way to the 
eastern part of India, naturally excited the apprehensions and jealousy 
of the Portuguese court. On the return of the great discoverer (March 
4, 1493) from his first voyage, Ferdinand put in operations all his di- 
plomacy at Lisbon for the purpose of preventing any interference with 
his claims, and at Rome, in order to procure from the pope a sole pro- 



2l6 THE RELICS OF COLUMBUS. 

prietorship of the new world, he obtained three papal letters, dated May 
8 and 4, which were to effect this result. 

The letter beginning "inter cetera" of the date of May 3, gave to Spain: 
First, the exclusive right to the lately discovered islands and to the 
other lands which might still be found, so far as they were not already 
possessed by some other Christian power. Secondly, the same privileges 
and rights for its new colonies as those previously conceded to Portugal 
for its possessions on the west coast of Africa. The other letter, of same 
date, which begins "eximie devotionis," contains only the last mentioned 
cor cession. 

'I'he third letter dated May 4, on the other hand gives the hrst con- 
cession indicated above, but not the second, and is, therefore, to some 
extent, a repetition of the first letter. But it contains, in addition, a 
definition of the famous line of demarcation, determining more exactly 
the donation given by the first letter, evidently on account of the grant 
made to Portugal, although that is not mentioned. The line is fixed one 
hundred leagues to the west and south of the westernmost island of the 
Azores. "To the south" was added because that region was particularly 
desired by both parties, and because Portugal had already proposed the 
drawing of a line from east to west in order to confine Spain to the 
northern side of such a bound. 

The condition of geographical science at the time did not permit the 
intended boundary to be defined more accurately. In proposing it to 
Alexander VI, Spain only knew that it would fall far from San Salvador 
and hoped that, by keeping its ships at a distance of one hundred 
leagues from the most western point of the Portuguese possessions, 
alarm and jealousy on the part of the last named power might be pre- 
vented. 

But Portugal, like Columbus and Spain, believed San Salvador to 
be a part of India, to which country, passing the Cape of Good Hope in 
1487, it had opened a new way, and to which it claimed the exclusive 
right. It was, therefore, impossible for Spain to maintain the demarca- 
tion line of Alexander VI, and in the convention of Torderillas (7 June, 
1494) it was moved one hundred and seventy leagues farther west; a 
change which, without the cognizance of either party, gave Brazil to 
Portugal. 

But although the position of the demarcation line of Alexander VI had 
to be changed, it continues, nevertheless, to be the b^sis of all subse- 
quent transactions and conventions for dividing the sovereignty of the 
new world, and thus preserved peace between the two colonizing powers. 

It is clear from the text of these letters that the popes, and especially 
Alexander VI, founded such action, as was his in this case, on their duty 



THE VATICAN EXHIBIT. 217 

to provide for the Christianization of the new countries; a duty which 
carried with it the right and authority to use all proper, and, particularly, 
all indispensable means for its accomplishment. The conversion of 
these heathen populations seemed impossible unless, somehow, they 
should be incorporated into, and peace preserved between the Christian 
kingdoms of Spain and Portugal. 

III. THE SENDING OF BISHOPS AND MISSIONARIES TO THE NEW WORLD. 

996. Bull of Pope Alexander VI, dated Rome, June 25, 1493, confirming 
Father Boyl, the first missionary priest to America, who accom- 
panied Columbus on his second voyage, and conferring upon him 
ample powers to govern ecclesiastical affairs in the New World. 

In these grants of lands newly discovered, or to be discovered, Alex- 
ander VI and his predecessors emphatically insisted on the duty of 
Christian kings to co-operate, by all the means under their control, in the 
conversion of the inhabitants of such lands; in fact, such co-operation 
was a clearly implied condition and consideration of the grants. 

The evidence appears insufficient to support a positive assertion that, 
on his first voyage, Columbus was accompanied by a priest. But it is a 
plain fact that for the second expedition, in 1493, Ferdinand and Isabella, 
as well as Alexander VI, solicitously provided missionaries, not only for 
the spiritual well-being of the Spaniards, but also, and principally, for 
the conversion of the natives. 

Bernard Boil, greatly esteemed for his saintly life and for his great 
ability in the management of ecclesiastical and also of political affairs, 
offered himself for this mission; the first apostle who, after Columbus' 
discovery, went to the new world. 

Till 1492 he was a Benedictine monk, or hermit, at Montserrat; but at 
the time of his mission to the lately discovered islands, that is to say, at 
least from September 22, 1492, to December 8, 1497, he belonged to the 
order of the Minimi, which shortly before had been established by St. 
Francis of Paul. In 1488 he returned to the Benedictine order, and 
became abbot of Cuxa. The copyist of the letter of Alexander VI to 
Boil made, therefore, a very excusable mistake in writing " Minorum " 
instead of " Minimorum;" in consequence of which Ragnaldus, Wadding 
and many other writers assigned Boil to the Franciscan order. 

By this letter of June 25, 1493, Alexander granted to Boil and his 
twelve companions all the powers and privileges which could aid to 
make their enterprise successful. Of these twelve companions only 
Pedro de Asena and Fray Jorje are named. Pedro de Asena is said to 
have celebrated the first mass in the New World, after it was discovered 
by Columbus. 

As early as 1501, at the request of Ferdinand and Isabella, Alexander 



2l8 THE RELICS OF COLUMBUS. 

took steps to provide ]:)ishops for the infant colonies in America. In 1504 
an archbishopric and two bishoprics were erected at Tagusta, Magua, and 
Bayuna in Hispaniola (Hayti). But through the operations of Ferdi- 
nand's well-known financial policy the plan came to nothing. On 
August 8, 1511, these three dioceses were suppressed, and three others 
were established at Santo Domingo and Concepcion de la Vega, in His- 
paniola, and at San Juan, in Porto Rico, and placed under the jurisdiction 
of the archbishops of Seville, where the government of the colonies had 
its seat. 

In August and September, 1513 (see the five letters of that date), John 
of Quevcdo, a Franciscan friar, was appointed to the see of Santa Maria 
del Autiqua, or Darian, and his appointment announced to the authorities 
and people. He was the first bishop of a diocese on the American con- 
tinent. He died at Barcelona, about December 5, 1520. 

Already a considerable body of priests, both secular and regular, were 
working for the religious good of the colonists, and to convert the 
natives. The popes, however, and the rulers of Spain wished to increase 
the number of these labt)rers, and to provide for their government. A 
letter of Clement VII dated June 7, 1526 (letter 22), the better to effect 
their wish, urged the general of the Franciscans to visit personally the 
members of his order in the New World. By another letter (letter 23) 
Clement authorized the emperor, Charles V, who had asked for mission- 
aries, to send one hundred and twenty Franciscans, seventy Dominicans, 
and ten Serougmites to the lately discovered islands, even without the 
jiermission of their respective superiors, granting to those who should be 
sent many privileges and exemptions. 

With like solicitude the kings of Spain and Portugal continued to 
fulfill the condition under which they had received the papal grants of 
newly discovered, or to be discovered, territories. 

997. Pope Julius II recommends Bartholomew and Diego Columbus to the 
King of Spain. 

On the death of Christopher Columbus (May 20, 1506) began for his 
heirs the difficulties which, aggravated by the characteristic tenacity of 
tlie family, occasioned the endless lawsuit, well known as Los Pleitos de 
Colon. 

With a hope of ending these difficulties, Bartholomew, the brother, and 
Diego, the son of the discoverer, determined to join King Ferdinand, 
then at Naples. Passing through Rome on their way thither, they were 
kindly received by Pope Julius II and obtained from him a recommenda- 
tion to Ferdinand, who seems already to have been favorably disposed 
toward them. 



THE VATICAN EXHIBIT. 2ig 

998. Five letters of Pope Leo X. 

Written from the 2Sth of August to the 10th of September, 1513, 
appointing the first bishop on the American continent at Darien (Santa 
Maria del Antigua) and announcing his appointment to the people and 
the authorities. 

999. Portrait of the Sovereign Pontiff Alexander VI gazing in adoration 

toward Jerusalem. 

Reproduced from the original fresco by Pinturecchio, 1494, in the 
Appartamento Borgia at the Vatican. 

1000. The Ribero chart. Geographical map of third decade of sixteenth 

century. 

A beautiful and complete map, on vellum, of the Old and the New 
World, drawn in third decade of sixteenth century, eighty-five centi- 
meters high and two and nine-tenths meters wide. It bears an inscrip- 
tion stating that it is a universal map, containing all of the world that 
had been discovered up to that time. Made by Diego Ribero, cos- 
mographer to His Majesty, in the year 1529, at Seville. It was divided 
into two parts, in conformity with the terms,of the compact between the 
sovereigns of Spain and King John of Portugal, at Tordesillas, in 
1494. On either side the line of demarcation, in conformity with that 
compact, are the banners of Spain and Portugal, reaching America on 
the coast of Brazil. In Peru, the conquest had gone as far as the prov- 
ince of Sierra Morena, .at the southern extremity of which appears, 
written in red ink, the name of a town which was then known as Chin- 
cha, founded by Almagro. 

The escutcheon of Alexander VII (1655-67) and those of the Chigi 
family, which may be seen in the center of the map, at the lov/er part, 
were placed over a rough place of the same map. 

looi. Large map on vellum. Early part of the sixteenth century. 

Map of the Old and the New World, drawn in same epoch as the preced- 
ing; size, one and six-tenths meters in height by two and one-tenth in 
width. Its primitive inscriptions have been cut away and have disap- 
peared. It bears the well-defined line of demarcation of Alexander VI, 
which does not appear to have been drawn by the original cosmog- 
rapher, but by a later hand. It also shows a plan of the city of Mexico, 
and illuminated portraits of Montezuma, Atahualpa and Prester John. 
This map and the one preceding belongs to the college of the Propa- 
ganda Fide at Rome. 
1002. Letter from Pope Clement VII, Rome, June 7, 1526. 

To Fr. Francisco de los Angeles, minister-general of the Order of 
San Francisco. "Religiosam et sanctam mentem tuam." 



220 THE RELICS OF COLUMBUS. 

Praising his zeal for evangelical preaching in the Indies, and grant- 
ing him permission to depart thence in the exercise of his sacred minis- 
try. 

1003. To the Emperor Charles V, from Pope Clement VII, Rome, October 

19. 1532. 

Grants to the emperor for the preaching of the faith in America, one 
hundred and twenty Franciscans, seventy Dominicans, and ten monks 
of the Order of St. Jerome. 

1004. Picture in Musaico Tagliato— "The Prophet Isaiah." 

From the Museum tif the Vatican. 

After the original fresco painted liy Raphael, in the church of St. 
Augustine. It preserves a precious work of the immortal artist 
from its situation, and the force of circumstances is destined to perish. 
Its execution recjuired sixteen years' labor. 

1005. Picture in Musaico Filato — "The Roman Forum. 

From the Museum of the Vatican. 

After the original painting by Angelini, showing the remains of these 
grand monuments (Roman) as they existed before the restorations of the 
last twenty years. This picture represents six years' labor. 

1006. Picture in Musaico Filato — "Theology." 

From the Museum of the Vatican. 

After the original painting by Raphael, and cost the labor of nearly 
six years. 

1007. Picture in Musaico Filato. 

F"rom the Museum of the Vatican. 

After an original painting from the actual, representing the facade 
and colonnade of St. Peter and the Vatican Palace, when the Pope, 
from the loggia, blessed the people. 

1008. Album containing fac-simile reproductions of famous documents relat- 

ing to Columbus in the archives of the Vatican. Furnished by His 
Holiness, Pope Leo XIII. 

1009. Portrait of His Holiness, Pope Leo XIII. By Theobald Chartran. 

The collection of small oil paintings which ornament the sanctuary 
of the chapel were furnished by the Pope for that purpose, showing 
the interest His Floliness has taken in the reproduction of the monas- 
tery at the World's Columbian Exposition. 

1012. Album containing specimens of ancient writings from the records of the 

Roman Pontiffs, from Innocent III to Urban V. 

1013. Fac-simile in phototype of the Vatican Greek Bible. 

The most ancient example of the Sacred Scriptures in existence, at 
least of the fourth century — fixe volumes and atlas. 



THE VATICAN EXHIBIT. 221 

1014. The Codex of the Prophets (called Marcoleano) in phototype. 

An K^;yptian writino; of the sixth century, with various original notes 
and critical illustrations by M. A. Cesiani. 

1015. Ten volumes of printed catalogues of the Vatican library. 

1016. Fac-simile of the great Egyptian papyrus of the Vatican library. 

1017. Memorial volume of the jubilee homage offered to His Holiness, Pope 

Leo XIII, by the writers of the Vatican library, with fine pictures. 
ioi8. Homage of the Vatican library for the Episcopal jubilee of His Holi- 
ness, Pope Leo XIII. 

1019. Albums containing photographic copies of paintings yet existing or 

traceable in the Roman catacombs. 

Loaned by the author, Monsignor Wilpert, through His Holiness, 
Pope Leo XIII. 

1020. Aquarelles, or water colors, representing paintings in the Roman cata- 

combs by Monsignor Wilpert. 

Loaned through His Holiness, Pope Leo XIII. 

1021. Picture in Musaico Tagliato— "St. Peter Weeping." 

From the Museum of the Vatican. Half figure, after the original 
painting by Guido Reni. 

This is considered a masterpiece — the finest mosaic in the world. Its 
execution required six years' labor. 

Note.— The small Byzantine Madonnas hanging in the sanctuary of the chapel sent 
from the Church of St. Boniface, Rome, to ornament the altar of La Rabida. They were 
painted from the twelfth to the sixteenth century, and are very valuable. 



222 THE RELICS OF COLUMBUS. 



SECTION R. THE JOHN BOYD THACHER COLLECTION OF 

VALUABLE WORKS REFERRING TO THE DISCOVERY 

AND COLUMBUS. 



Loaned by John Boyd Thacher, Albany, N. Y. 

1050. Ptolemy Cosmographia, folio vicentia, 1475. 

This is the first edition of Ptolemy, but it contains no maps. 

1051. Ptolemy Cosmographia, folio, twenty-seven maps, Rome; press 

Arnoldus Plannick, 1478. 

This is the earliest Ptolemy with engraved maps, which are on metal, 
presenting one of the earliest examples of copper engravings. One 
sees here the headwaters of the Nile fed from two Moji/es Ljincr. It 
shows all that was known of the world at the time Columbus set cut 
upon his first voyage. 

1052. Ptolemy Cosmographia, folio, thirty-two maps, Ulm; press Leonardus 

Hul, 1482. 

This edition is interesting as presenting the first delineation of any 
part of the American continent, the configuration of Greenland appear- 
ing on one of the maps prepared by Nicolaus Denis. It would seem to 
indicate that the latter knew something of the Norse map-makers. 

1053. Ptolemy Cosmographia, large folio, thirty-four maps, Rome, 1508. 

This edition of Ptolemy contains the first engraved map showmg the 
results of the Columbian discovery. It was made by Johan Ruysch. 

1054. Ptolemy Cosmographia, large folio, twenty-seven double maps, Venice, 

1511. 

In this edition of Ptolemy is found a map of the New World, dis- 
tinguishing it by the name Terra Sajicta" Crittis. It is tlie first repre- 
sentation of the continent of North America. 

1055. Ptolemy Cosmographia, large folio, forty-seven maps, Strassburg, 

1513- 

This edition, besides the twenty-seven maps belonging to the ancient 
Ptolemies, contains twenty new maps made by Martinus Hylacomylus, 
the author of the Cosmographcc Introductio, printed at Saint Die in 1507. 
[See No. 980.] 



THE JOHN BOYD THACHER COLLECTION. 223 

1056. Ptolemy Cosmographia, large folio, forty-seven maps and two spheres, 

Strassburg, 1522. 

This edition is the first of the Ptolemaic series to place the name 
America upon a map. [See No. 977.J Both North and South America 
are shown. 

1057. Ptolemy Cosmographia, small octavo, Venice, 1548. 

The colophon is dated 1547. 

This may be regarded as the consummation of the Ptolemaic series. 
Space forbids giving other examples. Here the configuration of the 
two continents is plainly seen. It is the first Italian edition of Ptolemy. 

1058. Sabellicus, Marcus Antonius, large folio, Rhapsodse Histcriarum 

Enneades, Venice, 1498-1504. 

In the second volume, the eighth book of the tenth Ennead contains a 
brief biographical sketch of Christopher Columbus, the first ever printed. 

1059. Autograph of Rene II, Duke of Lorraine. 

Son of Yolande d' Anjou, and grandson of the good King Rene. The 
patron of the Vosgian Gymnase, under whose auspices the Costno- 
graphia Introdnctio was printed. Letter signed November 18, 1505. 

1060. Cosmographiae Introductio, Waltseemuller (Martinus Hylacomylus), 

first edition, Saint Die, VII Kalends, Ma.y, 1507; quarto, fifty-two 
leaves, twenty-seven lines to a full page. 

It is in this book that the suggestion was first made of calling the New 
World America. 

1061. Cosmographiae Introductio, Waltseemuller (Martinus Hylacomylus), 

Strassburg, 1509; small quarto, thirty-two leaves. 

This is the edition of which Ferdinand Columbus, the son of the 
admiral, had a copy and which he fully annotated. He offered no pro- 
test or comment in regard to the suggestion of naming the New World 
after Americus. 

1062. Giustiniani Psalterium, Genoa, 1516, folio, title i leaf-f4 leaves-j-199 

leaves. 

This is the first Polyglot psalter, and is printed in Hebrew, Chaldean, 
Greek, Arabic and Latin. It contains an early biographical sketch of 
Columbus under that passage (verse 4) of the XIX Psalm, beginning 
In oinnem tert-am. This, for a long time, was believed to be the earliest 
biography of the great navigator. It asserts that Columbus Vilihts 
orttis parcntibus. 

1063. Solinus, Julius, Polyhistor, with notes by Johannes Gamers, folio, 

Vienna, 1520. 

This book contains an engraved map of the New World by Petrus 



224 THE RELICS OF COLUMBUS. 

Apianus, and is the first time tlie name America appears on any en- 
graved map. 

1064. Oviedo, Gonzalo Fernandez, Historia de L' Indie Occidentali, Venice, 

1534- 

At the beginning of the second book is the earliest printed map of the 
■ Is/and of Spam or Hayti, showing iXavuiad, -whQxe Columbus lost his 
flagship Santa Maria, and the city of Isabella, the first two settlements 
in the New World. 

1065. Columbus, Ferdinand, Histoire . . . E relatione della vita dell 

Ammiraglio, small 8vo, 247 leaves in addition to title and tables, 

Venice, 1571. 

This is the first known edition of the life of Columbus by his son Fer- 
dinand. It was translated from the Spanish, but whether from a printed 
edition or a manuscript we do not know. 

1066. Jovius, Paulus, Elogia Virorum Illustrium, large folio. Bale, 1575. 

This volume, page 191, book IV, contains the first published likeness 
of Columbus. This engraving was made from a painting in the Jovian 
gallery at Como. 

1067. Autograph order of Pope Alexander VI (Rodigo Borgia). Dated 1497. 






W. B. CONKEV COMPANY, 

PRINTERS AND BINDCRS. 

CHICAGO. 




